An attorney representing the man who allegedly threw a can of White Claw at Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) during the Houston Astros’ World Series parade says he did not mean to harm Cruz and instead wanted Cruz to “chug” the drink.
Bill Stradley, who represents Joey Arcidiacono, said in a statement posted on Twitter on Wednesday that Arcidiacono was trying to toss drinks from his cooler to Cruz and did not realize how his action would be perceived until he saw security’s reaction.
Stradley said political violence is never acceptable, but what happened at the parade on Monday was not political violence nor aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, the charge Arcidiacono is facing.
“Many generous, fun, semi-stupid, legendary moments have happened during Astros Championship Parades. Hopefully, many more of those moments will happen in the years to come,” Stradley said.
“Fans throw cans to people in championship parades all the time. That is a widely known thing. To get them to chug,” he continued.
Officials said the can hit Cruz in the “check/neck area,” but he did not require any medical attention.
The incident came in the aftermath of the attack on Paul Pelosi, the husband of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). A man broke into the Pelosis’ house last month, allegedly looking for Nancy Pelosi, and beat Paul Pelosi with a hammer, requiring him to get surgery to address a skull fracture.
Stradley noted the Astros’ social media page showed pitcher Ryne Stanek chugging a beer that a fan threw to him earlier that day, and that fan posted their own video of the moment.
Stradley also mentioned that Arcidiacono texted a friend the night before the parade and said, “My dream would be to throw one of the players a beer. Doubt it would happen haha but that would be epic.”
He said Arcidiacono apologizes for his actions and that they hope Cruz declines to continue to press charges.
Stradley said they will have no further comment on the situation and request privacy for Arcidiacono and his family.