A Republican candidate for Indiana's District 26 Statehouse seat was arrested on the eve of Election Day for allegedly violating a protective order with a Facebook comment.
The Tippecanoe County Sheriff's Office was alerted to a comment allegedly made Sunday evening by Jim Schenke on the Facebook post of a person whom courts have barred Schenke from contacting. Schenke has been charged with invasion of privacy for violating the protective order.
"Part of the order is to not have any direct or indirect contact, and that does include social media," Tippecanoe County Sheriff Robert Goldsmith told The Exponent. "The (victim) ... made a post on Facebook and Mr. Schenke commented on it, so he was arrested for invasion of privacy."
"For anyone who cares about honesty, I have been accused of violating a protective order," Schenke refuted in a Facebook post. "In truth, I have a protective order against the sociopath that has been stalking and menacing me for months."
The arrest was made at Schenke's home on Monday, and is the third charge to recently be brought against him.
Schenke was charged with operating a motor vehicle in October after allegedly driving his uninsured campaign motorhome into a light post, though the charge was dropped weeks later.
Still pending is a civil charge that accuses Schenke of failing to provide proper adequate disclaimers in campaign advertisements.
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