Police Wear Ebola Gear While Arresting Former Gubernatorial Candidate

A former Florida Republican hopeful for the governor’s office was arrested Monday after officials say she committed campaign fraud during her 2014 primary run against Gov. Rick Scott.

Yinka Adeshina, 43, was taken into custody at the Tallahassee Regional Airport, WTXL reported. Arresting officers donned masks and gloves out of an abundance of caution because Adeshina was returning from a trip to Nigeria, the station reported. That country has been especially hard hit by the recent Ebola outbreak.

While Adeshina was screened for Ebola in Atlanta before arriving in Tallahassee, officers were taking no chances.

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Adeshina faces two counts of fraud after officials from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement say she claimed $182,000 in campaign contributions from fictional people, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

Under Florida law, candidates who are able to raise at least $150,000 in donations from residents can receive matching donations from the state.

Adeshina came in a distant third in the August primary, trailing Scoot and Elizabeth Cuevas-Neunder. She was booked into the Leon County Jail Monday. She is being held in lieu of $10,000 bond, according to jail records.

Ebola is a virus that’s spread through close contact with bodily fluids. It presents with a fever, headache, muscle pain, vomiting and diarrhea. Patients may also suffer unexplained hemorrhaging, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Often deadly, the virus has claimed thousands of lives in an ongoing West African outbreak.

Photo Credit: Yinka Adeshina/Leon County Jail