Indiana house candidate is ARRESTED on eve of election day
A candidate for the Indiana House of Representatives has been arrested on the eve of the election for violating a protective order.
Republican Representative for the 26th House District Jim Schenke was booked into the Tippecanoe County Jail on charges of invasion of privacy. JC Online reports.
He is accused of commenting on the Facebook post of a person under a protective order Purdue scout.
Police received a call about the incident Sunday at 9:30 p.m., and Schenke, 57, was arrested the next day at his home in Wabash Township.
The West Lafayette challenger currently has two protective orders issued against him by a local attorney and their staff.
Republican Rep. for the 26th House District Jim Schenke arrested for violating a protective order on the eve of the election
He is accused of commenting on the Facebook post of a person under a protective order
The politician posted one against a person who lived near him.
He was admitted to the jail at 6:10 a.m. Monday morning, but is no longer on the inmate list.
Schenke took to Facebook to deny the allegations, stating that he was the victim in the situation.
“For anyone who cares about fairness, I have been accused of violating a protective order,” Schenke said.
“In reality, I have a protective order against the sociopath who has been stalking and threatening me for months.”
He compared the person involved to Michael Keaton’s psychotic, con artist character in the 1990 film Pacific Heights.
Schenke said the person is “a drunk, angry pagan transgender activist who became insanely convinced I wanted to kill his child, who portrays himself as some kind of Avenger with a cap and a license to stalk and threaten those he hates.” ‘
Tippecanoe County Chief Deputy Terry Ruley said there was probable cause to arrest Schenke for violation of the protective order.
He was booked into the county jail on preliminary charges of invasion of privacy, but claims he is the victim of a “sociopath” against whom he has his own protective order in place
Schenke, pictured with his family, has been hoping to become the first Republican for the 26th House District since 2018
The incident is the latest scandal to hit the embattled politician after he was accused of driving his campaign camper into a light pole while uninsured.
However, the charges were dropped on October 22.
He still faces a new civil charge from the Tippecanoe County Election Board for allegedly failing to include adequate political disclaimers in his campaign ads.
Schenke is campaigning to unseat Democrat Chris Campbell. If successful, he would become the district’s first Republican House member since 2018.
DailyMail.com has contacted the Schenke and Tippecanoe Sheriff’s Office for comment.