A GOP candidate for lieutenant governor was barred from his home after his wife accused him of abuse
Teddy Daniels' wife told police he was stalking her and being verbally abusive, as well as threatening her, their young child, and the family dog.
A Republican candidate for Pennsylvania lieutenant governor was removed from his home Sunday by police, and a local court this week issued protection-from-abuse orders requested by his wife, according to multiple news reports.
That prompted State Senate leader Jake Corman, a Republican candidate for governor, to call Thursday for State Sen. Doug Mastriano, a front-runner in the GOP primary for governor, to drop Teddy Daniels as his endorsed running mate.
Mastriano has been actively campaigning with Daniels. Both are U.S. Army combat veterans.
Rolling Stone first reported Wednesday that State Police conducted a “wellness check” on Daniels and his family at their home in Lake Ariel, about 20 miles east of Scranton. The Associated Press confirmed that.
Daniels’ wife told troopers he was “stalking her and being verbally abusive, as well as threatening her, their young child, and the family dog,” Rolling Stone reported.
“He stalks me at work, screaming at me, making me cry,” she said in her filing, obtained by The Inquirer. “He curses at me continuously and our son repeats it to me. He has constantly said he would throw myself and our son out of the house and if he lost the campaign I wouldn’t have a place to live in three weeks.”
The protection-from-abuse orders issued by the Wayne County Court of Common Pleas bar Daniels from the couple’s house, from contacting his wife, or from possessing any guns while the orders are in effect. His wife said in her filing that Daniels “has numerous guns, knives and ammunition in the house.”
Daniels, in an email to The Inquirer on Thursday, said: “These unfounded allegations are the result of politically motivated attacks on me and my family.” He added that he has hired a lawyer “to litigate this politically motivated case in the courtroom to see that justice is served.”
Mastriano and his campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
» READ MORE: Mastriano campaigned at an event promoting QAnon and conspiracy theories about 9/11
Daniels posted a 25-minute Facebook video Wednesday, claiming his home was “swatted” three times in 15 hours on Sunday and Monday. “Swatting” refers to when someone calls a law enforcement agency to falsely report a violent crime in progress at an address to prompt a swift and aggressive response.
In the video, Daniels said he went to the State Police barracks in Wayne County on Monday to report swatting.
“I am the complainant, and I am the victim of three unjust and unwarranted swatting events,” Daniels said. “This is political terrorism.”
Daniels didn’t address the protection-from-abuse orders directly but said the last few days “really took a toll on my family.”
“Just because someone says something or does something, that does not make it true or valid,” Daniels said.
He also complained repeatedly about Rolling Stone contacting people during its reporting about him, a standard practice in journalism. Rolling Stone in February reported on other domestic abuse allegations related to two prior relationships he had with women.
Daniels suggested Wednesday that he’s the “target” of an orchestrated effort to get him to withdraw from the primary.
“Folks, I ain’t dropping out of nothing,” Daniels said. “I ain’t quitting.”