Tuesday, October 30, 2012
2:18 PM
Lee Campaign dismisses volunteer over false attack story
Chad Lee’s 2nd Congressional District campaign says it has dismissed a campaign volunteer who claimed he was attacked because he's a gay Republican.
The man wasn't identified in the original Madison Police Department incident report last week or one posted late Monday afternoon that said the victim in the case recanted his earlier statements. The department said the case will be cleared as “unfounded.”
But Kyle Wood gave an interview last week to a conservative media outlet detailing the alleged attack, and Lee’s campaign identified him in a statement originally decrying the attack. That was followed up in some conservative media with a story that sought to tie the incident to the Mt. Horeb Republican's opponent, Dem Mark Pocan, who's openly gay.
Lee’s campaign issued a statement that it “unfortunately learned that a deeply troubled volunteer misled police, news outlets, and our own team.” The campaign said Wood had been dismissed and it would fully cooperate with authorities as they continue the investigation, but declined further comment.
Pocan Campaign Manager Dan McNally said in a statement that the events "are an example of what is wrong with civility in politics today."
"We hope that those who are responsible for the recent events are quickly brought to justice," McNally said. "We are keeping every option open on legal actions towards organizations and individuals that perpetrated this lie."
-- By Staff
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