Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Pat McDonough Lied To The Police And Sent Me To Jail To Cover His Own Crimes

He's running for MD-2, but he's a crook.

At the 2012 Primary election, I set out with my camera to conduct on-camera exit interviews. Instead, I found Pat McDonough with a gang of about a dozen people just outside the entrance to the polling room, stopping and surrounding voters attempting to vote in the primary election.
Maryland law, in order to protect access to the voting booth, prohibits anyone from campaigning within one-hundred feet of the entrance to the polling place. While McDonough and his crew were not physically obstructing the door to the polling room, they were blocking access to the patio in which the door was located and the patio entrance was less than forty-five feet from the door.



I witnessed McDonough and about eight other people surround someone trying to vote. It was at the point I realized something was wrong, and turned my camera towards them. Then, most of the people who were part of the group left. Only Pat McDonough and another volunteer, Anita Schatz, remained, eventually calling the police themselves to prevent more evidence from being obtained.



Violation of Maryland Election Law result in a two-year suspension from seeking or holding public office - McDonough would’ve lost his delegate seat and been prevented from running to reclaim it next election. So instead, he lied to the police.

He and Schatz fabricated a story about a vicious assault to have arrested and discredited in the eyes of law enforcement. (It worked, by the way.)

But, he had to tell a different story to the “reporter” from the local Patch who witnessed the whole thing. The report from The Patch claims my arrest was for attempting to video inside the polling location, but the actual charges were completely different. McDonough told one story to the police, who knew the law, and one story to the witnesses, who knew the facts.

McDonough was willing to lie to the police for his own advantage. What makes you think he’ll tell you the truth.
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4 comments:

  1. I might be incorrect, but I believe the little white triangle sign inside the barrier is the one stating "No electioneering beyond this point." Since it looks like they're in front of the sign, they were probably okay. That being said, saying that they fabricated an assault charge is major deal, and I'd prefer that you bring that to the party leadership's attention.

    The general procedure is that the election judge picks a starting point the day before, measures out the distance, and places those little triangle white signs at the limit. All candidates are then required to abide by the limit set by the judge (although they can ask that the distance be re-measured).
    -Rudy

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    1. The signs were placed for the benefit of the electioneers and in direct violation of the law. It's only relevant now as motive for fabricating the assault charge.

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  2. I would like to interview on the context of your blog? Please let me know? Buzz@buzzbeeler.com (Patch)

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    1. Interesting article. Buzz, I would interview all involved that day to get both sides of this, including the election judge. Something sounds like it needs clarification. But then, being in the media, you know that.

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