Campaign workers attacked

[5711-Marine]

Campaign workers attacked

Photo by April Wright
Mike Stevens says he and other Republican campaign volunteers were attacked on Monday when they were sprayed with pepper spray after an altercation with two people over campaign signs.
By Ben Bomberger

Two people were arrested Monday afternoon after an altercation led to five Republican campaign workers being sprayed with Mace at their headquarters in Galax.

Galax Police Chief Rick Clark said officers were dispatched shortly before 1 p.m. to the Galax Republican headquarters on East Grayson Street when a caller reported someone had sprayed office workers with Mace.

Responding officers arrested Daniel Cason Meinecke, 29, and Cara Annis Hindman, 26, both of Galax.

Meinecke was charged with one count of misdemeanor assault, Hindman was charged with five counts of misdemeanor assault.

Galax Republican Chairman Mike Stevens said he was one of the volunteers sprayed. He said a man and woman came into the office and asked for campaign yard signs for the Democratic ticket of Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

After being told the Obama-Biden campaign office was up the street, Stevens said, the man said he was aware of that, but that he thought Democratic signs were being stolen and “stashed” at the Republican office.

Stevens told him that nobody there had stolen signs, not were they “stashing” any in the building.

A confrontation escalated and, Stevens said, the man began to use some four-letter words.

Stevens said there were older women in the office and he asked the couple to leave the building.

“With the ladies in the office, I said that was enough and asked them to leave,” he said. “I told them, if they had a problem with someone stealing their signs they needed to contact the police department.”

Stevens said the couple replied that they weren’t leaving, and that they didn’t have to.

“I kind of moved them towards the door and he lashed out at me,” Stevens said. “So I lashed out at him.”

No punches were thrown, but instead the two simply held each other at bay, according to Stevens.

Once outside, Stevens said, the woman sprayed Mace on him and another volunteer before turning back to the office and spraying inside the building.

“It was surreal in the fact that I’ve had people in the past couple months come in and ask for signs. But to have an altercation like that just seems strange.”

While Stevens was unsure if the couple came into the building planning to start an altercation, he said it seemed evident they were.

“There was no business that this gentleman had to do in the office. We didn’t do anything... We didn’t steal his signs. The people in the building were a 75- and 71-year-old man and their respective wives... they aren’t out there stealing signs.”

Stevens said he felt the man just came to the headquarters to agitate office volunteers and that he had no reason to enter the building.

“I can’t say they came there for that purpose. But it seemed that it was to come in and agitate. When he started cussing, that’s when I felt it was time for them to go out of the way and go on down the road.”

With the election of a new president coming in the next week, Stevens said the tension between Republican and Democrats has been elevated.

“We are more divided,” as a result, he said.

Chief Clark said in a news release that Meinecke is alleged to have physically assaulted one of the Republican campaign workers; Hindman is alleged to have sprayed Pepper Mace that contaminated five Republican campaign workers.

Both were released on a secured bond pending their arraignment in Galax General District Court.

[adymond]

Those two must not have heard that Chuck Norris is a McCain supporter.

[Damage control]

He should have gave him the " Another Democrat for McCain" sign.

I have two in my yard and I'm not a Democrat.


DC