HOUSTON – A chaotic confrontation took place during early voting Thursday.
An encounter between workers on two campaigns ended with an arrest. Ruby Ramirez, an Adrian Garcia campaign volunteer, shot video of Houston police arresting Jose Ramon, a Jack Morman campaign volunteer.
She claims Ramon threatened her and Karen Wolfe, a Garcia campaign staffer, with a pocketknife and a screwdriver.
“I was just ... I just couldn't believe that was happening,” Ramirez said.
The two were outside of the Moody Park early voting location in north Houston when Wolfe said Ramon confronted her while she was sitting down. He was holding a cellphone.
“He thrust the video in my face and said, 'Who is this? Who is this? He works with you,'” Wolfe said.
Ramon claims the video, which he shared with us after we asked him about the allegations, shows a man with a Garcia campaign sign slicing up a Jack Morman campaign sign near I-45 and Telephone Road.
“And then, that's when he pulled out his knife and I was stunned,” Wolfe said. “I said, 'Would you please put that back in your pocket, you're threatening us.,'and I said, 'You just need to leave us alone,'” Ramirez said.
Ramirez said he put the pocket knife away and then claims he pulled out a screwdriver.
“Pointed it at us and I said, 'OK, that's enough.' I said, 'You need to leave,'” Ramirez said.
Ramirez called police. Ramon left and then returned and was arrested on a deadly conduct charge. He denies threatening the women with a pocketknife or a screwdriver.
“That is a lie. That is a lie. That is a false police report,” Ramon said.
Adrian Garcia told KPRC he is disappointed.
“All campaigns have some degree of tension and drama on occasion but to the extent that you would confront two women with a deadly weapon, there's no need for that,” Garcia said.
Victor Sanchez with the Morman campaign told KPRC the following:
- Ramon was at the Moody Park polling place putting up signs
- A Garcia campaign worker approached Ramon and asked, “Why are you supporting Morman?”
- Ramon left to go get lunch, and returned approximately 45 minutes later
- In that time he was gone, the Garcia volunteer had called police
- When Ramon returned, he was arrested, then released after processing
- Ramon denies ever brandishing a weapon of any kind
- Ramon and the Morman campaign call this a “false accusation”
- The Morman campaign has three videos of Garcia supporters threatening Morman supporters with a pair of scissors
Ramon said he filed a police report with Harris County Precinct 6 regarding the man he claims he caught on video vandalizing the Morman campaign sign.