Rob Ford campaign volunteer charged after scuffle

Ontario,A man who was volunteering at Rob Ford’s mayoral campaign office has been charged following a scuffle with another man wearing a Ford mask.
Paul Benoit, 43, said he was trying to be funny when he entered the campaign office with a camera Wednesday afternoon, wearing a mask resembling Ford’s face.
Benoit said that he was near Ford’s Scarborough campaign office in the Lawrence Avenue East and Warden Avenue area, filming footage for his website.
“Right before I left (the area), I decided to walk into the office with a Rob Ford mask just as a joke,” he told CTV Toronto Wednesday night.
“Basically I was going to Rob Ford’s campaign office to do some filming as a citizen journalist for my website,” the founder of Crucial Matters said.
“I was going to interview people to see who would or would not vote for Rob Ford.”
The Oakville, Ont. man entered a restricted area of the office and was told to leave, but refused.
The altercation was caught on Benoit’s camera. In the video, a Ford campaign worker can be seen approaching him.
“At ease everybody,” Benoit is heard saying in the video. A volunteer responds, telling him to, “get out of here or I’m calling the cops.”
Police say a physical altercation took place with a member of Ford’s campaign team inside the office. It continued outside, where police say it “escalated into an assault.”
The campaign worker reportedly kicked Benoit’s camera out of his hand and punched him in the face, police said in a statement Thursday. The fight continued until people in the area stepped in and stopped it. The campaign worker then took Benoit’s microphone and left, police said.
Police said Benoit and another man suffered minor injuries.
Benoit was arrested Wednesday, but was released without charges.
The 60-year-old volunteer was also arrested, and has been charged with one count of assault, one count of mischief and one count of theft. He is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday, Oct. 7.