Astro fan hoped Sen. Ted Cruz would catch and chug White Claw before quick arrest, lawyer says

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- There was no violent intent when a couple of White Claw hard seltzer cans were tossed at Texas Sen. Ted Cruz during the Astros championship parade, the lawyer of the fan jailed for the stunt said on Wednesday.

In fact, Joey Arcidiacono's attorney, Bill Stradley, said his client was hoping the two-term lawmaker would enjoy the beverage thrown at him.

Stradley tweeted a statement, which Eyewitness News verified its authenticity, a couple of days removed from his client's arrest on Monday during the height of the parade, which drew at least 1 million people to downtown and Midtown Houston.

Arcidiacono, 33, is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and on Wednesday, he faced the judge again to review conditions of his bond, which require him not to have any contact with Cruz or his family.

PREVIOUS STORY: Man identified in alleged hard seltzer can assault on Ted Cruz

In the statement, Stradley, on behalf of Arcidiacono, explains there was no ill intent while expressing remorse for what was done.

"What happened at the parade was not political violence nor 'aggravated assault with a deadly weapon,'" the statement in part read. "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."

ABC13 reached out to Sen. Cruz's office regarding the explanation but have not heard back.

Bill Stradley's full statement, on behalf of Astros fan Joey Arcidiacono

"Political violence is never acceptable. What happened at the parade was not political violence nor 'aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.'

We have seen various videos and understand why Senator Cruz's security detail was alert for potential violence.

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.

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.'

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.

Fans throw cans to people in championship parades all the time. That is a widely known thing. To get them to chug.

Astros pitcher Ryne Stanek set the legendary chugging bar high that day. The Houston Astros official social media account featured him chugging a beer a fan threw to him. That fan posted his own video showing how excited he was it happened.

That was stupid, good fun. This ended up as not fun.

Joey apologizes for how his actions alarmed Senator Cruz, his family, and his security detail and put a damper on an otherwise beautiful celebration for millions of Houstonians. With this fuller context, we ask for grace and hope Senator Cruz declines to maintain charges.

Given the on-going legal process, we have no further comment on this situation, and request others to respect the privacy of Joey and his family. Though, we would like to add, GO ASTROS, CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD!"

SEE ALSO: 'We want Houston' chants, Ryne Stanek's beer chug among Astros parade's savage moments

Cruz cracks open a Claw

The Texas lawmaker, who wasn't seriously injured from the cans, continued to make light of the situation. He appeared on his "Verdict with Ted Cruz" podcast, essentially echoing what he tweeted hours after the incident and arrest.

"I'm just grateful that the clown who threw his White Claw at me had a noodle for an arm. If he threw a 100 mile-an-hour fastball, I might be in a very different condition," Cruz said.

He did all this while he and co-host Ben Ferguson cracked open White Claws, which the senator claims he has never drunk before the podcast.

"A White Claw is exactly what I would expect a liberal to throw," Ferguson joked.