The New Hampshire state chairman for Sen. Marco Rubio's presidential campaign has confirmed in an interview with Breitbart he roughed up a protester whose robot costume was intended to make fun of the candidate.

Cliff Hurst, who had worked on Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's campaign earlier, said the protester started it.

But he said, "Yeah, it was because when you're attacked like that – he just attacked me. We were right crowded together and he just almost knocked me down."

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Hurst also said, "He was pushing me, almost pushed me over. I'm 76 years old. And he went right against me and pushed me almost to the ground."

The report said Hurst, wearing a green jacket in the video, grabbed the protester and pulled him away from Rubio.

"Why do you have your hands on me?" said the protester, whom Breitbart identified as progressive political activist Aaron Black.

Black told reporters, "All I know is I felt hands around my neck – or something that felt like hands."

He said what happened is "all on the video."

"It was not provoked at all. I was just trying to express my opinion, and that's why we have a First Amendment right? We should all be able to express our opinion. This doesn't have to get physical like that. That's insane," Black told Breitbart.

Hurst told the news agency he's a peaceful person, and he doesn't understand why the protester was "violent against me."

Black, the report said, was unsure whether he wanted to seek charges in the confrontation, but did accuse the Rubio campaign of orchestrating events.

"Somebody was telling it to other people to push me around, cover my sign, push me out of the way," Black said.