By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-10-30 03:11:36 | Updated at 2024-10-30 05:33:53
2 hours ago
An Indiana man who ran for Congress this year and promised to 'restore trust' in elections has been arrested and charged with stealing ballots during a test of voting machines.
Larry Savage Jr., 51, ran in the Republican Primary for Indiana's 5th Congressional District, in which he finished in sixth place with less than two percent of the vote.
Savage ran as a self-described 'common man' who would 'restore trust and protect civil rights' in 'fair, transparent elections.'
He had been elected as a local party leader to attend a public voting machine test on October 3 in Madison County.
Four voting machines were tested out with 136 ballots but two had gone missing. Surveillance video showed Savage taking them, folding them and putting them into his pocket.
An Indiana man who ran for Congress this year and promised to 'restore trust' in elections' has been arrested and charged with stealing ballots during a test of voting machines
Larry Savage Jr. (circled left), 51, ran in the Republican Primary for Indiana's 5th Congressional District, in which he finished in sixth place with less than two percent of the vote
State police found the ballots in Savage's car after executing a search warrant, Fox 59 reported.
Savage argued to authorities that he only took the ballots because he had been told by an official at the event that they were fake.
'You talking about the ballot the lady told me I could take,' Savage said, according to the charging documents.
'I got the paper you're talking about. I just rolled it up and put it in my pocket. I wasn't trying to steal from nobody.'
However, the attendees were told by the official on the surveillance video: 'They are live ballots. They are live election ballots.'
It was also revealed that after he'd taken the ballots, Savage told state auditor candidate and fellow Republican Katherine Callahan: ''f***ed up count.'
He also reportedly made several posts on someone's Facebook Live stream to the same effect.
Officers asked Savage why he put the ballots in his pocket if he thought they were free to take.
State police found the ballots in Savage's car after executing a search warrant
Savage argued to authorities that he only took the ballots because he had been told by an official at the event that they were fake
County prosecutors say he responded by stating 'that he wasn't going to incriminate himself.'
Savage then claimed that he didn't have plans to do anything untoward with the ballots and would've given them back if he'd known he wasn't supposed to.
However, a search of Savage's cell phone records reveals he texted Callahan, asking: 'Sis they say anything about the ballots I took?'
A warrant was issued for Savage's arrest on Monday. A day later, he turned himself in, according to the Indy Star.
He faces one charge of destroying or misplacing a ballot and one charge of theft.
The voting machine company said that Savage engaged in 'sabotage of the public test and their voting equipment.'
The state's Republican Party has now condemned the man who said he ran as a 'MAGA candidate.'
'We unequivocally condemn any form of criminal election interference,' Griffin Reid said in a statement.
Savage claimed that he didn't have plans to do anything untoward with the ballots and would've given them back if he'd known he wasn't supposed to
Savage appears to have responded to the arrest on Facebook, where he has made his cover photo his own mugshot
'We appreciate law enforcement's efforts in pursuing justice and we will continue to monitor this situation as the process unfolds.'
Savage appears to have responded to the arrest on Facebook, where he has made his cover photo his own mugshot.
He wrote on one post: 'The truth is gonna come out!'
