Prosecutor: No Charges in Mackinac GOP Conference Scuffle

No charges will be filed in the scuffle that broke out last week at the Republican Leadership Conference between a top consultant for Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul’s campaign and a top deputy for Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s campaign, a county prosecutor said Monday.

Rubio’s deputy campaign manager, Rich Beeson, reportedly punched Rand’s consultant, John Yob, in the face in what bystanders called an unprovoked attack at Horn’s Gaslight Bar, a popular Mackinac Island nightspot.

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Surveillance video at the historic Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island showed the incident, but it appeared to be more of an open-handed push by Beeson, rather than the punch Yob reported in a Facebook post:

“Last night I went to a bar on Mackinac Island for the GOP Mackinac Conference. I ran into a guy named Rich Beeson, who frankly I didn’t even know who it was at first because he isn’t relevant in our political world. Anyway, he is Marco Rubio’s national campaign manager. He literally physically assaulted me by punching me in the face. The state police are looking for him. I have it on video, from multiple angles. This will play out in the national media in the next few hours.”

Mackinac County Prosecutor J. Stuart Spencer told the Detroit Free Press that he’s not comfortable filing charges in the incident, which was investigated by the Mackinac Island Police Department and forwarded to Spencer’s office for review.

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• Paul Consultant Says Top Rubio Deputy Punched Him

“Both Mr. Rubio and Mr. Paul need to have discussions with their staff about proper behavior and what’s expected of them,” Spencer told the newspaper. “As I tell my staff at least once a week, we all chose to live in a fish bowl, and don’t do anything to put yourself in a police report.”

Yob called on Rubio’s campaign to fire Beeson, but it’s unclear if the campaign plans to let him go.

Rubio, Trump, Carson and Walker were not in attendance at the Michigan Republican cattle call. On Monday, Walker, who was scheduled to speak but was a no-show at the event, was said to be suspending his campaign.

A record 2,180 GOP leaders, donors and activists registered to attend the conference as Michigan takes on a more important role in the presidential selection process, Michigan Republican Party communications director Sarah Anderson told Patch last month.

“Michigan is going to be critical, both in the primary and general election,” Anderson said at the time, explaining the state allocates its delegates proportionally in presidential primaries. “It’s not a winner-take-all, so we’re going to get a lot of attention.”

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Grand Hotel photo via Wikimedia/Creative Commons