Voter registration rep charged in fight with reporter

An Indiana voter-registration deputy was charged with misdemeanor battery after "fisticuffs" April 9 with a reporter for The Star Press [Muncie]. According to the Associated Press, witnesses said the 56-year-old deputy shoved the reporter in the hallway of a county building and then hit a state congressional candidate who tried to intervene.

Will D. Statom, the deputy, had said he was upset the newspaper did not challenge the legality of an election board meeting. "It [the attack] wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t promoted it [the meeting]. When you promote illegal activities, there’s ramifications," the AP article quoted him as saying.

Staton was released from the Delaware County Jail April 9 and a court date has not yet been set.