Opponents of an anti-gay Anne Arundel County Council Member with past ties to a Southern nationalist extremist group are celebrating a court victory this week.
Maryland District Court Judge John P. McKenna convicted two campaign operatives linked to Council Member Michael Peroutka of making an illegal political robo-call that went out in the final days of Peroutka’s successful 2014 run for his District 5 seat.
Campaign Manager Dennis Fusaro and Republican political consultant Stehpen Waters were both sentenced to serve 30-days in jail, but remain free while they appeal their conviction for violating Maryland election law by failing to disclose the true source of the robo-call.
In a written statement e-mailed Wednesday, Peroutka says he had nothing to do with the anti-gay call targeting opponent Patrick Armstrong. Druing the trial, Peroutka testified he would have stopped the call if he had known about it beforehand. Peroutka was not charged in the case.
The following is the full statement from Peroutka:
The actions Mr. Fusaro took in furtherance of his scheme, he took without my knowledge or consent.
Had I known, I would not have approved such a scheme. I consider the robo call in question to be dishonest and inconsistent with Christian principles and outside the boundaries of civil discourse.
Even though I did not have anything to with this robo-call, I personally apologized to Mr. Armstrong for the discomfort and inconvenience that this incident brought to him and his family and his many friends.
Mr. Armstrong has graciously accepted my apology.
Throughout the past election, I found Mr. Armstrong to be a true gentleman."Peroutka testified for the prosecution under an immunity agreement.
The robo-call went out October 31st of 2014 to about 2000 voters. At the time, Armstrong was leading in early voting. He went on to lose the election by 1700 votes.
The call falsely linked Armstrong to a controversial “Bathroom Bill” that supported transgender rights. Armstrong is gay. The call claimed it was authorized by “Marylanders for Transgenders”, a non-existent group.
In a 14-page written verdict, Judge McKenna said evidence was overwhelming that Fusaro and Waters orchestrated “the distribution of the robo-call in violation of Maryland law.”
Verdict of the District Court by wusa9 on Scribd
During the trial, security video from a Virginia Walmart showed Fusaro and Waters together purchasing and activating a cell phone linked to the robo-call.
Peroutka was elected despite past ties to the League of the South, described by hate-group watchers as a neo-Confederate Southern Nationalist organization. Peroutka is seen on a 2012 video at a League of the South convention speaking about secession. He later leads the group in singing “Dixie” which he describes as the national anthem.
Before his election Peroutka said he cut his ties to the group.
Peroutka also has a record of making anti-gay statements. In one radio appearance he described being gay as a “deathstyle” that depends on the recruitment of children to continue.
During the robo-call trial, attorneys for Fusaro and Waters argued the robo-call was free speech protected by the First Amendment. The men will appeal the verdict and jail sentence.
