Carl Gibson blames voter suppression prank on beers. Gibson, a Democratic political enthusiast, was caught sending fake emails to voters hoping the candidate he was supporting would win.
Carl Gibson arrested for voter suppression prank, and now he is blaming it all on alcohol. On Thursday afternoon after New Hampshire Attorney General Joseph A. Foster had issued a warrant for his arrest, political blogger, and Democratic activist Carl Gibson was forced to turn himself in.
Gibson was arrested and charged with voter suppression after he was caught sending faux emails to voters hoping to change the results of Tuesday’s special election for Rockingham District 32 state representative.
Gibson, who is a supporter and a former volunteer for the Democratic candidate, former state Rep. Maureen Mann, sent out very real and professional emails to voters and media outlets announcing that Yvonne Dean-Bailey – the Republican – had dropped out the race.
The email, which was sent on May 14, 2015, said that Yvonne Dean-Bailey, 19, and a college student, had removed herself from the race to focus on her education. Carl Gibson confessed to the voter suppression prank and explained to the police that the idea came to him one afternoon after drinking too many beers.
“I thought it was funny,” the political prankster claimed. “I didn’t really think it would be taken seriously.”
There is great doubt that Gibson is still laughing after learning that voter suppression is a Class B felony, and he has been charged with distributing a false document, a Class A misdemeanor. Dean-Bailey rapidly issued a statement where she said that she was still in the race.
“I want to represent my district with honor and distinction, and I am committed to running an honest campaign that focuses on the important issues facing our state,” she explained.
Other Republicans from the state were less diplomatic. Political writer Kimberly Morin said Democrats had reached a new low, they are cheaters and claimed that Mann has more skeletons in her closet. New Hampshire Republican Party Chair Jennifer Horn said Gibson was “a radical extremist” and implied that Mann was involved in the scandal.
“Mr. Carl Gibson has been charged with voter suppression for knowingly attempting to induce voters to refrain from voting in this past Tuesday’s special election for state representative in Rockingham District 32,” a statement from Stephen LaBonte, the assistant attorney general read.
Carl Gibson’s hoax had no impact on the election, Mann was squashed by Dean-Bailey. This is not the first time Gibson has gotten in trouble with the law, in 2011, he sent out hundreds of emails claiming that General Electric was returning $3.2 billion to the U.S. Treasury causing the company’s stock to drop by $3 billion.
The following year, he was arrested while protesting during the “Occupy Wall Street” movement in New York City.
What are your thoughts on Carl Gibson’s voter suppression prank?
