Saint Louis, Mo. — A circuit court judge has ordered a candidate for Missouri’s 76th House district to cease distributing certain campaign materials and ordered him to destroy “all copies and originals” of the literature.
Philip Heagney of the 22nd Judicial Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis issued the order today after incumbent Rep. Josh Peters filed the request for a temporary restraining order. The ruling finds in favor of Peters’ claim that the campaign of his challenger, Chris Carter Sr., was distributing campaign literature in violation of state law. Documents say a flyer being distributed throughout Peter’s district does not identify who paid for it, in clear violation of state statute.
The flyer in question is inflammatory. It states that Peters “was chared [sic] with Child Molestation in Madison, IL” as a teenager. The flyer features a photo of Peters next to the phrase: “He stole a young boy’s innocence.”
The Peters campaign told The Missouri Times that a different Joshua Peters was accused of the crime — something Judge Heagney confirms in his ruing — and that they anticipated legal action regardless of the outcome of the race. Rep. Jeremy LaFaver, a Kansas City Democrat, called the flyer “disgusting.”
“Whoever put out that disgusting, illegal, anonymous attack is a true scumbag,” LaFaver said.
Neither campaign could immediately be reached for comment.
Collin Reischman was the Managing Editor for The Missouri Times, and a graduate of Webster University with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.
