CUBS FAN: CHRISTIE’ S SECURITY THREATENED TOHAVE ME‘ LOCKEDUP’
Cubs fan: Chris Christie’s security threatened to have me ‘ locked up’
The Chicago Cubs fan who exchanged words with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at a game in Milwaukee said Monday that Christie’s security detail “threatened” him and his friends.
Brad Joseph said other fans were already heckling Christie when he yelled “you suck” as Christie walked past on his way to the concession stand. As Christie returned to his seat, carrying a bowl of nachos, Joseph said he told Christie he was a “hypocrite.”
Christie turned around, came toward him and got in his face, Joseph said. He told Joseph to “have another beer,” which Joseph said he found funny and “a decent comeback,” though he wasn’t drinking.
“But Christie quickly made it clear that he wasn’t joking around,” Joseph wrote on Facebook. “He came a few inches frommy face and began to call me a ‘ big shot,’ and a ‘ tough guy,’ and asking ‘ what are you gonna do now?’
Christie also “began to hit my leg with his knee,” Joseph said.
Video of part of their interaction was captured by Joseph’s cousin, Ben Hutchison, a reporter for ABC12 in Milwaukee who did a story on the incident. The video was posted to Hutchison’s Twitter account.
Hutchison declined to comment about the video on Monday. A spokesman for Christie had not replied to a request for comment as of Monday afternoon.
Joseph posted a lengthy narrative about his version of events on Facebook Monday morning that included the threat as well as other details.
“So yesterday was an interesting day,” it begins. But about that threat: “A few seconds later someone from Christie’s security detail began threatening all of us with being “locked up,” although he didn’t seem to have any problem with Christie initiating physical contact. Once it became clear that we hadn’t been drinking and would not be intimidated, the agent left us alone, no doubt to enjoy the rest of the game at taxpayer’s expense. The agent expressed his own personal disagreement with Christie while admonishing us that such a confrontation was unwise, asking “do you think I agree with everything he does?”
Joseph also apologized for his choice of words — some of them, anyway:
“I’m not proud of my behavior today and I regret shouting “you suck!” at Christie. So Chris, if you’re reading this, I’m sorry. … What I do not regret is calling Chris Christie a hypocrite. This is a man who made a career out of demonizing public corruption only to become exactly what he denounced.”
Joseph also denied being some liberal out to goad Christie.
“Many people on social media have assumed that I must be a liberal or democrat, but I want to be clear that this was not about republicans or democrats. I am a registered republican and I voted for Donald Trump, but my politics do not fit conveniently into one box or another.”
Joseph also said he was willing to face- off against the governor again:
“To anyone who wants to claim I backed down, all I’d say is that I’mnot going to punch a sitting governor,” he wrote. But, if Christie wants to “fight fair,” Joseph added, Tuff- N- Uff, an amateur martial arts group, “has already agreed to put on an event sanctioned by the Nevada Athletic Commission. … Just let me know if you still want to make this physical. You won’t evenhave to cut any weight.”