Jury Declines to Indict Houston Man Who Allegedly Threw Unopened White Claws at Ted Cruz

A grand jury has decided to drop charges against a man central to a viral alleged incident involving Ted Cruz. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

A grand jury has declined to indict a Houston man involved in an alleged incident involving Ted Cruz and a pair of flying White Claws at the 2022 Baseball World Series.

The story first unfolded on Nov 7 during the Astro’s World Series victory parade. Senator Cruz was met by boos from the crowd as he made his way down the street on the back of an army green pickup truck.

In a now-viral video, Ted Cruz and an aide were seen deflecting a pair of alcohol cans thrown from the sidelines.

Houston Police confirmed the incident later that day, tweeting;

“A male, 33, threw a beer can at U.S. Senator Ted Cruz as the Senator was on a float in the 2400 block of Smith St. The beer can struck the Senator in the chest/neck area. The Senator did not require medical attention.”

According to court documents, Joseph Arcidiacono was seen running away from the scene by a bystander, who stopped him and walked him over to the police. Arcidiacono allegedly told officers, “I know, I’m an idiot. I’m sorry.”

Court documents would later allege that Arcidiacono threw two unopened 12-ounce cans of White Claw at the Senator.

Arcidiacono was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and his bail was set at $40,000.

In a statement, Arcidiacono’s lawyer argued that the charges were baseless.

“What happened at the parade was not political violence nor ‘aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Instead, this was an Astros fan trying to toss drinks from his cooler to the Senator during a championship parade and not realizing how it would be perceived until he saw security’s reaction,” said his attorney.

The attorney added, “The night before the parade, Joey texted a friend, ‘My dream would be to throw one of the players a beer. Doubt it would happen haha but that would be epic.'”

Though it’s unclear whether this version of events was accepted by the court, the grand jury has now declined to indict Arcidiacono as of Friday.

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