A Detroit-area man has been charged with assault and ethnic intimidation after he allegedly tried to run over Democratic campaign workers last month while angrily proclaiming his support for Republican nominee Donald Trump, police said.
Jason Lynch Lafond, 55, of St. Clair Shores, faces three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, each carrying a possible four-year sentence, as well as three counts of ethnic intimidation, which carry a potential two-year sentence per count.
Lafond was arraigned last Thursday in St. Clair Shores District Court, where he was granted $50,000 bond. The conditions of his release ordered him to avoid any contact with victims or witnesses and required him to wear an ankle monitor.
A probable cause hearing is scheduled for Nov. 8.
The incident happened Oct. 12 in the parking lot of a VFW Post on Jefferson Avenue, where volunteers from the St. Clair Shores Democratic Club set up a tent to hand out flyers for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.
As Lafond approached the group on foot, he didn’t see any campaign materials for Trump, then turned livid when the canvassers told him it was a Harris/Walz tent, prompting him to lash out with insults and LGBTQ slurs, police said.
As the situation escalated, Lafond allegedly threatened that if Trump wins the election, he would “exterminate” people like them. After this, Lafond got back in his vehicle and gunned the engine toward the tent, forcing the workers to leap out of the way.
“He gunned his vehicle so fast that I legitimately thought I was about to die. I thought this man was going to kill me,” said Melissa Crook, a volunteer for the St. Clair Shores Democratic Club, according to CBS Detroit. “I still don’t know how he was able to stop his car that fast because it’s not an electric vehicle, but he did, and I’m thankful that he did, but I thought that was it and I would never see my loved ones again.”
Following the confrontation, Lafond peeled out from the parking lot to escape, but the campaign workers had already called police.
Later, Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido released a statement, saying, “This alleged assault was not just an assault on the victims. It was an assault on the rights of the victims to express themselves freely and safely, and impacts our entire community. Acts of violence, assaults, or harassment based on someone’s identity have no place here. It threatens our Democracy and the exercise of free speech in a fair and secure election.”
Police officials did not disclose the details of Lafond’s arrest or how they tracked him down.
The campaign workers returned to the parking lot two days later, saying it was important to stand up to bullying.
“Ultimately he was trying to intimidate us and to show that we’re not going to be intimidated and to be here for the community that wants us here,” Crook said.
Some cities and states are bracing for possible election-related unrest, with governors in Washington, Nevada and Oregon placing National Guard troops on standby to assist local law enforcement if needed.
Officials were also preparing for disruptions amid concerns that former President Trump might prematurely declare victory, potentially sparking civil tensions before results are finalized.
Concerns over election-related violence reached a fever pitch last week after ballot drop boxes were set ablaze in Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington. Before that, an
Arizona man was indicted on charges of terrorism after allegedly shooting at a Democratic National Committee office in Tempe, Arizona.
Elsewhere, a Philadelphia man was charged on Oct. 30 with threatening to blow up a Republican office in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
In recent days, an Ohio sheriff’s lieutenant found himself in hot water after several of his Facebook posts stated he would refuse police services to residents who vote for Kamala Harris. This sparked an uproar among social media users who compared his tactics to those used by authoritarian regimes to instill fear in voters with opposing viewpoints.
Local election officials nationwide have also expressed concerns regarding the potential for extremist groups, such as the Proud Boys, to incite violence at polling places during Tuesday’s vote.
The New York Times reports that pro-Trump factions have been using the social media app Telegram to rally conservative poll watchers to challenge votes in predominantly Democratic areas across the country, setting the stage for potential confrontations. Some Trump supporters have shared images of heavily armed individuals asserting their Second Amendment rights, while others are spreading conspiracy theories suggesting that if Trump lost the election to Harris, a second civil war would erupt.
