Indiana House GOP candidate arrested on eve of election

A Republican candidate for Indiana’s House of Representatives was arrested on the eve of his election for allegedly violating a protection order, according to the Lafayette Journal & Courier.

Jim Schenke, the GOP candidate for the 26th House District, was arrested Monday morning and booked into the Tippecanoe County Jail following a complaint on Sunday at around 8:35 p.m. that he had allegedly contacted the victim, who has a protection order against him, the outlet reports, citing Tippecanoe County Chief Deputy Terry Ruley.

He was placed in the jail at around 6:30 a.m., the outlet reports. He is no longer listed on the jail’s inmate roster.

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Schenke has two protection orders against him from a local attorney and their staff. Schenke also has a protection order against a man who lives in his West Lafayette neighborhood, the Lafayette Journal & Courier reports, citing the state registry.

The Exponent reports Schenke allegedly contacted someone with an order against him via a Facebook post, which led to his arrest. 

Ruley said officers investigating the complaint determined there was probable cause to make an arrest on the accusation of violating one of the protection orders.

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"Part of the order is to not have any direct or indirect contact and that does include social media," Tippecanoe County Sheriff Robert Goldsmith said, per The Exponent. "The (victim)... made a post on Facebook and Mr. Schenke commented on it, so he was arrested for invasion of privacy."

Schenke took to Facebook to refute the allegations.

"For anyone who cares about honesty, I have been accused of violating a protective order," Schenke says. "In truth, I have a protective order against the sociopath that has been stalking and menacing me for months."

At around 9:40 p.m. Sunday, Schenke also posted a video to Facebook about blue light emergency phone boxes around Purdue University campuses, one of which is in the background. 

Describing himself as a former journalist and publicist, he says the prevalence of the phone boxes underscores that women are prone to sexual attack and that such attacks are being covered up. He vowed to tackle the issue. 

Schenke faces incumbent Chris Campbell, a Democrat, for Indiana's 26th House District seat.

Last month, Schenke allegedly drove his campaign motor home into a light post while the vehicle was uninsured. He was charged with operating a motor vehicle without insurance, but the charge was dropped, according to the Exponent.

The Tippecanoe County Election Board has also accused him of inadequately putting political disclaimers in campaign advertisements, while the GOP politician has two recent civil charges against the government, both of which are related to his campaign, the outlet reports.