ESCONDIDO - A local activist who got in a near tussle with anti-illegal immigration protesters last week said Monday he had filed an assault complaint against the man who confronted him.

Danny Perez, a regular fixture at rallies opposing Escondido's recently passed ordinance barring landlords from renting to illegal immigrants, alleges he was assaulted by Raymond Herrera. Perez and Herrera were captured by news cameras clashing in front of City Hall on Friday during a rally by an anti-illegal immigration group.

"This is not the first time this kind of group does these kinds of actions," Perez said. "We'll go to the extent of the law to prosecute them and make sure they don't harass innocent people."

Perez said he is requesting the charge be investigated as a hate crime.

Escondido police Lt. David Mankin said that the department is investigating the incident as a potential battery and that upon completion, an incident report would be forwarded to the district attorney's office for review, based on Perez's decision to seek charges. Mankin said there was no indication from witness accounts or the initial police report that the conflict qualified as a hate crime.

Herrera called Perez's claim baseless, and said he did not expect to be charged with any crime.

"No blows were thrown," Herrera, 57, a member of the Minutemen Project, said. "At no time was there any intention of confronting anybody. The Minutemen Project does not use violence to confront anybody."

Herrera, who lives in Victorville, added that Perez was trying to "create hoopla" by making allegations against the Minutemen.

During a Friday news conference for You Don't Speak for Me, a Latino organization opposed to illegal immigration, Perez was quickly surrounded by demonstrators when he interrupted one of the speakers, Jeff Schwilk, founder of the San Diego Minutemen.

Herrera then allegedly chest-bumped Perez several times during the confrontation, trying to move him out of the way.

Undercover police officers escorted Perez away before the conflict escalated. No punches were thrown and no arrests were made.

Perez initially declined to file battery charges.

He said Monday his change of mind came after a visit to the emergency room. A discharge order from the visit notes that Perez suffered bruises from the incident, and provides a generic description, including bruising and swelling. Perez said additional medical records will show that he had urinated blood after the incident.

Perez called the Minutemen "bullies" who harass people who don't agree with them.

"They just bring these pit bulls to attack," Perez said. "They expected me to fight, and I didn't."

Schwilk said it was Perez who incited the confrontation.

"Maybe he shouldn't come up and start pushing people around and then start crying when people push back," Schwilk said, adding that he believed Escondido police failed to intervene in a timely fashion.

Bill Flores, a retired assistant San Diego County sheriff and spokesman for El Grupo, a coalition of Latino leaders, said he could not comment on Perez's claims because he was not there. But he said the allegation is in line with his own experience with anti-illegal immigration protesters.

"Based on personal observations of several individuals who identify themselves as Minutemen," Flores said, "I can say I've observed several occasions where legally they could have been prosecuted for assault and battery."

Schwilk called such characterizations "ridiculous."

- Contact staff writer David Fried at (760) 740-5416 or dfried@nctimes.com.