Republican candidate calls for arrest of opponent in Florida congressional race
The race for Congressional District 6 has the Republican contender calling for the Florida Office of Election Crimes and Security to arrest his Democratic opponent.
Brevard County state Sen. Randy Fine said the arrest this week of a woman working on the campaign of Democrat Josh Weil is enough reason for Weil himself to be charged.
On March 7th, deputies with the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office arrested 35-year-old Arleci Darnae Brown of Orlando.
They say she was handing out fliers promoting Weil’s campaign in a Palm Coast neighborhood on the 6th and the 7th.
But when one bicycle was reported missing, and neighbors spotted the woman acting suspiciously on their home security videos, they called deputies, who then arrested Brown. She faces multiple burglary and theft charges.
In a statement from the Weil camp, campaign manager Wendy Garcia told WESH 2 News:
"This individual (Brown) was hired by and worked for a third-party contractor (Trailblazing Canvassers). This is an unacceptable incident, and we support the justice system working to deliver accountability. The individual is no longer authorized to do any work on behalf of our campaign."
The District 6 Congressional seat, which covers all of Flagler and Putnam counties and parts of Volusia, Lake, Marion and St. Johns counties, will have voters casting ballots there in a couple of weeks.
The April 1st special election was called to fill the vacant seat of Republican former Congressman Michael Waltz, who was appointed U.S. National Security Advisor under President Donald Trump.
In a circumstance becoming more common, neither Weil, who lives in Orlando, and Fine, who lives in Melbourne Beach, live in the Congressional District they seek. The law only requires that they reside in the State where they serve.