Illinois State Representative Cynthia Soto’s daughter is taking political battles to the next level. Politics is a game of influence and numbers. While the opponents involved do battle via traditional campaigns and media battles, their supporters tend to be more creative with ways to one-up their opponents’ supporters, or even the opponents themselves.
Jessica Soto definitely thought she needed to defend her mother’s candidacy and territory Friday when she presumably went gung-ho on one of her mother’s political rivals. The allegation wasn’t just that she attacked the poor guy; she also allegedly used a staple gun on his forehead.
Ouch! The story was confirmed by the police and the victim.
Jessica Soto and Bradley Fichter, both 26, from Chicago, were alleged to have attacked Robert Zwolinski, who had lost an Illinois State primary to Cynthia Soto earlier in the month. The two went as far as carrying out the attack outside Zwolinski’s campaign office and the victim swiftly got the law involved.
When the incident happened, lawyers for both parties were not available for comments.
However, in another twist to the whole story, the couple’s lawyer, Frank Avila, told local media that Zwolinski started the fight and to draw attention to himself, pointed the staple gun at his own head.
On the night of the “attack,” Zwolinski posted photos on social media of a staple sticking out of his forehead, a bloodied face, and a swollen nose.
Politics is a contact sport. Apparently that's literally the case. pic.twitter.com/wIlFIP366W
— Robert Zwolinski (@BobZ_Chicago4th) March 7, 2016
According to the police, Zwolinski was hit with a metal object and glass bottle. He believed the metal object to be the staple gun, and he had his forehead repeatedly stapled by the pair.
Zwolinski says:
“The girl was yelling, while I was on the ground fighting the man off of me, ‘This is Soto’s territory! This isn’t your territory.'”
If the second version of the story is to be believed, Zwolinski must either be quite sadistic, or he just wants to get the young couple in trouble.
While Avila identified Soto as the daughter of Representative Soto, he denied Jessica Soto was part of the attack.
What was the couple doing outside Zwolinski’s campaign office? Are the allegations and counter-allegations not just part of a political publicity stunt?
While you get to that, keep in mind that Jessica Soto and Bradley Fichter have both been charged with three counts of aggravated battery.
It’s now time for the law to prove which of the Zwolinski and the Soto teams are either guilty or innocent while we patiently follow proceedings.
Here’s a video:
Featured Image Credit: Robert Zwolinski via Twitter
