A never-Trump Republican was caught in a parking lot in New York allegedly forging petition signatures in an effort to challenge Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik.
First obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation, a video shows Lonny Koons, who is running against Stefanik in NY21, sitting in his car at the Ticonderoga Walmart Parking lot on March 24.
On the same day the video was filmed, Koons had said he was in Ticonderoga and “obtained a healthy number of petition signatures”. Now it appears the signatures were forged.
The video was shared by “North Country Watch” on YouTube. Koons can be seen signing a number of signatures on a document in his car.
“The petition filing period starts April 4. Republicans need a minimum of 1,250 signatures to appear on the ballot,” reported the Daily Caller.
“This is a serious crime and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. We must stand up for election integrity and security in our country,” Stefanik’s campaign told the Daily Caller.
After being contacted about the videos, Koons said “I have been preparing a press release of my own to announce that I am suspending my campaign due to a lack of funds and that I cannot afford to stay afloat because I have been on disability for 6 plus weeks at half my pay”.
“I will reevaluate a future run but currently I cannot afford to stay in this race and need to get back to work as am by definition, blue collar,” he added.
Stefanik tweeted “Election fraud alert #NY21” in response to the report.