A top staffer for Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s presidential campaign was fired Saturday after the Cincinnati Enquirer surfaced his arrest on domestic violence charges.
According to the Enquirer, Washington D.C. police arrested Blake Waggoner, the Kasich campaign’s deputy digital director, after responding Nov. 12, 2015 to a report of a woman “screaming repeatedly ‘get off me.'”
The woman, who was not identified, told police that he choked her and punched her in the back.
Waggoner, who was also the campaign’s rapid response director, was charged with misdemeanor domestic violence, which carries a penalty of up to 180 days in jail and a fine of $1,000. Records show he pleaded not guilty but was later enrolled in a diversion program.
The Kasich campaign found out about the charge Saturday afternoon from an Enquirer reporter calling for comment and fired him “within a couple of hours,” according to the paper.
“Obviously, this kind of behavior is abhorrent and completely unacceptable,” campaign manager Beth Hansen said in a statement. “We were unaware of the incident concerning Blake, and he is no longer an employee of the campaign.”
Didn’t do a background check?
I love the word abhorrent. And abhor.
God, they just feel so good to say.
What happened to TPM’s live results feed?
For many of the Repubs, being a jack booted thug is a required skill set for employment, I didn’t think so for Kasich…
I would have thought that anyone working for someone under state police protection would be vetted.