Democrats seek inquiry by Idaho AG

The Idaho Democratic Party called on Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden to investigate the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office and District 1A Representative Heather Scott regarding alleged incidents of stalking and harassment in both Bonner and Boundary counties.

An Idaho Democratic party campaign organizer was reportedly removed from the campaign field in both counties because he felt that the BCSO did not take his case seriously when he filed incident reports with the department, stating that Scott’s alleged supporters were harassing him.

Democratic Party Chairman Bert Marley included Boundary County in the Oct 5, letter to Wasden, stating that the employee faced harassment in both counties and was requesting an investigation into the matter.

Party spokesman Dean Ferguson said the incident in Boundary County allegedly occurred back in August during the Boundary County Fair.

According to Ferguson, the 21-year-old, field organizer said that he had encountered a man on the fairgrounds who was wearing a Heather Scott hat. He and the man reportedly had a verbal exchange regarding politics and candidates.

No witnesses to this verbal altercation have come forward and, to date, no reports have been filed with the Boundary County Sheriff’s Office.

“The threatening conduct of the group in Bonner and Boundary counties presents serious questions of illegal interference with the right to vote,” Marley said in the letter to Wasden.

Ferguson said that he didn’t believe the incident in Boundary County constituted as stalking and harassment, but that it fit the pattern of the alleged incidents in Bonner County.

The party released a statement on Oct. 17, maintaining that Scott is overtly intimidating voters by calling on her supporters to identify Democrats and moderate Republicans voting on the GOP ticket, pointing to a statement that Scott made in an email to her supporters.

According to the campaign email in question, Scott states: “If you see a Democrat sign go up in your neighborhood, please write down the house number and street name. We are trying to figure out which “Republicans” may really be Democrats in disguise on the voter logs.”

“That her supporters enforce her directives while at the same time enjoying their rights to pack pistols on their hips is more intimidation,” Marley said in the statement.

Ferguson said that the alleged Bonner County incidents of stalking and harassment are directly related to Scott’s email, saying that her statement in the email is proof that she is directing her supporters to stalk and harass individuals in both counties, by compiling what he refers to as an “enemies list.”

Scott denied the allegations.

“I would like to believe that none of my supporters would stalk, harass or instigate any confrontation,” Scott said.

“I do not condone such behavior and I certainly would not direct anyone to do so. I spend the majority of my time educating people on the issues so that they can defend their rights in a logical, educated, and non-aggressive manner.”

Regarding the email statement in question, Scott said, “The Republican Party updates their mailing and voter registration list in this manner. When we see a Democratic sign go up in the yard of someone who, in the past, has been on our mailing list, we make note of that address so that we can remove them from our mailing and door-knocking list.”

Ferguson said the unnamed field organizer was removed from both Bonner and Boundary counties because the Democratic Party did not believe that the BCSO’s office was taking the alleged harassment seriously.

“We encouraged our field organizer to report the incidents with the authorities so that it was on record,” Ferguson said.

Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler released a statement to the press on Oct. 20, regarding the alleged incidents in Bonner County.

Wheeler said the field organizer filed his initial report on Sept. 8, nine or 10 days after an alleged incident had occurred outside of “the Flying Fish Booth” in Sandpoint, because he said that he had been verbally threatened over politics.

On Sept. 27, the same field organizer contacted BCSO and reported another incident that allegedly took place on Sept. 22, five days earlier.

The field organizer reported that on that day, he walked out of his office at 301 N. First Ave., in Sandpoint, and that there were unidentified people near his vehicle, stating that they needed to document his license plates, since they knew he had moved.

“He moved from Dover,” they reportedly said, “get his license plate number.” The field organizer reported that the individuals were wearing Heather Scott election items, i.e. T-shirts, hat and buttons, and that they knew his name.

During that same conversation with the BCSO, Wheeler said the field organizer reported a third incident that allegedly took place between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. the morning of Sept 27. The field organizer said he had awakened to the sound of what appeared to be a 2012-2013, white, Dodge diesel truck. He reported that he saw an individual photographing his vehicle. The field organizer reported the incident at 9:53 a.m. and was advised by the responding deputy that if he had reported it at the time of the incident, that deputies could have attempted to locate the suspicious vehicle.

The field organizer expressed to the deputy that he felt targeted in the community and did not feel safe. Wheeler said the deputy told the field organizer that Sandpoint is an accepting community and that his wife, who is also a Democrat, has never received any negativity when expressing her opinion.

The deputy advised the field organizer that, although his feelings of being targeted would be taken seriously, under the strict language of the law, a Democrat is not a protected class, as defined in the Idaho trespass laws, stalking laws and the Idaho malicious law, I.C. 18-7902. The deputy explained that the statute pertains only to a person of race, color, religion, ancestry or national origin.

While the deputy was taking the field organizer’s statement, Wheeler said another deputy was conducting a security patrol of the area. That deputy found nothing suspicious in the area. A request for extra patrols was reportedly sent out to all of the shifts and regular prowler checks were conducted in that area. According to Wheeler, no suspicious white truck was identified.

According to the Democratic Party, they, and the field organizer, felt as if the deputy was not taking the case seriously and reached out to the Attorney General’s office to investigate both the BCSO and Scott.

Scott responded to the allegations by stating that, “We cannot confirm whether or not the alleged incidents were fabricated or exaggerated. For example, the police report states that the alleged harassers were wearing Heather Scott campaign regalia, such as hats, T-shirts and buttons — We don’t even have campaign buttons.

“We cannot confirm whether or not the alleged harassers were Heather Scott supporters or paid Democrat agitators; nor can we confirm whether or not the field organizer wasn’t the instigator in the alleged confrontations. All we have is the word of a 21-year-old, anonymous, paid, democratic field organizer who won’t even come forward. We have no suspects, no arrests and no witnesses.”

According to Deputy Attorney General Brian Kane, the office has received the request for an investigation, but has not released a public statement at this time.