Republican congressional candidate Chad Lee’s campaign dismissed a volunteer Tuesday after he falsely claimed he was attacked at his home for being a gay Republican.
Kyle Wood, the campaign volunteer, told several conservative media outlets over the past week that his car was vandalized and he was beaten for refusing to support Lee’s opponent in the 2nd Congressional District race, state Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, who is openly gay.
However, Wood recanted his statements about the alleged assault Monday and the Madison Police Department cleared the case as “unfounded.” He could now face criminal charges for filing a false police report.
The police did not name the volunteer in either incident report involving the case, but the Lee campaign identified him in a statement last Thursday.
“Today, our campaign unfortunately learned that a deeply troubled volunteer misled police, news outlets and our own team in regards to events that he alleged to have occurred,” a statement from the Lee campaign released Tuesday said. “Our campaign dismissed Mr. Wood immediately and we will fully cooperate with the authorities as they continue with their investigation.”
Pocan campaign manager Dan McNally called the episode “an example of what is wrong with civility in politics today.”
“We hope that those who are responsible for the recent events are quickly brought to justice,” McNally said in a statement. “We are keeping every option open on legal actions towards organizations and individuals that perpetrated this lie.”
The Dane County District Attorney’s Office will review the case after the MPD completes its follow-up investigation.
