Paul Sableman via Wikimedia Commons

A candidate in the Democrat primary for U.S Congress in Rhode Island has been arrested in Ohio and charged with drug possession and stalking.

Michael Neary, 28 years old and running in the Sept. 13 Democrat primary to succeed retiring Democrat Congressman Jim Langevin, was arrested in Elizabeth Township, Ohio after chasing a couple in his car for nearly 60 miles, WPRI reports.

The couple called 911 early on morning of Mar. 23 to report a car chasing them and flashing his headlights after leaving the Columbus, Ohio airport.  

Police caught up to Neary in Troy, Ohio at 2:30 a.m. and pulled him over.  They found marijuana, a ceramic smoking pipe and a half-empty bottle of whisky.  

Neary was charged with menacing by stalking, possession of marijuana and marijuana drug paraphernalia, and released on bail.

WPRI reports Neary gave conflicting stories to arresting officers why he was chasing the couple, and neither Neary or his alleged victims knew each other.  Police say Neary initially claimed he thought he recognized them, then later said “I don’t know these people either, I was just stressed and tired and focusing on their license plate.”

He told officers had been visiting Rhode Island where he was “running for a political position” but drove back to Ohio to “clear his head” after getting into an argument with his parents.

Neary grew up in Rhode Island, but moved to Ohio to work Governor John Kasich’s 2016 presidential campaign and gave officers a Columbus, Ohio apartment as his residence.

While running for Congress Neary has told reporters he moved back to Rhode Island full-time and was living with his parents.

“My parents live in the same house still, so I’ve always been a Rhode Islander no matter where I’ve lived,” Neary told WPRI earlier in March. “A lot of people move from Washington to move back home to run for office. I like to say at least I’m moving back home from another state and not necessarily from Washington.”

“Neary is due back in court in Ohio on April 21 for a pre-trial conference hearing,” WPRI reports.

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AmericanActionNews.com




Michael Brigham has written for American Action News since the summer of 2019. His areas of expertise include foreign affairs, government, and politics, but regardless of the subject matter, he has a nose and an insatiable appetite for news. In his free time, he enjoys reading nonfiction, watching a mix of comedies and true crime documentaries, and spending time away from the swamp hiking in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.

Comments

  1. The smallest state in the Union has a whole lot of political creeps. They’re no different than any other troubled state.

  2. THESE ARE JUST THE TYPE OF PEOPLE WHO RUN IN THE DEMS/FRAUD PARTY?????????? NO WONDER OUR COUNTRY IS IN TROUBLE?????????

  3. Unfit for office before he decided to run and no one that knew him said a word – you can’t tell me others didn’t know of his drug problem. And if you or I had done that we’d still be sitting in jail. Why do people like this get a pass ? He had already endanger two lives!

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