Police arrested a local political candidate in Florida on Sunday after he was caught on video strangling a teenage girl.

George Birdmesser, a Russian-American lawyer running for Sunny Isles Beach commissioner, is accused of choking a teenager and slapping another at a local Cuban restaurant. according to Local 10 News.

Security camera footage obtained by Local 10 shows the incident unfolding: Birdmesser, wearing a political campaign shirt, appears to walk up to a group of teenagers seated at the restaurant. Birdmesser, 59, then appears to go to the corner of the table and put his arms around the teenagers' necks.

Restaurant patrons are seen taking action, when a fellow teenager grabs the candidate and tries to pull him back. Birdmesser is seen pushing the teen back. He then allegedly turns around and punches the teen in the face.

Two men then intervened and pushed Mr Baldmesser away from the teenagers while the woman held back the children. (RELATED: Republican Rep. Neil Friske arrested for allegedly chasing stripper while firing gun)

Local 10 also shared a video recorded by a bystander in which a woman can be heard yelling, “I hit my kid!” as Baldmesser appears to shrug off her comments.

The boys were apparently part of a political opposition group opposed to Baldmesser, Local 10 reported, citing police reports.

“There were some kids sitting there and I don't know if they said something to provoke him or to get him to stand up. He strangled one of the kids and slapped the other one,” restaurant owner Pedro Vera told Local 10. “He got out of hand. He lost control. This should not have happened.”

Birdmesser was at a “Republican coffee meeting” at a local restaurant when Announced on his Facebook page on Thursday.

The political candidate has been charged with two counts of child abuse and is being held on $5,000 bail. according to Miami-Dade County Inmate Records.