Possible Voter Intimidation Investigated In St. Pete: Report

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — A report of voter intimidation at a downtown St. Petersburg early voting site was deemed a mistake by police, who said an off-duty security guard chatted with someone at the site. Ties to President Trump's campaign were refuted by staff.

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office investigated possible voter intimidation that was reported by Supervisor of Elections Julie Marcus who told ABC Action News that two people dressed as armed security guards set up a tent outside an early voting site on Wednesday in downtown St. Petersburg, and claimed they were with the Trump campaign.

The Trump campaign reached out to the news outlet on Thursday and denied hiring the two men.

“The campaign did not hire these individuals nor did the campaign direct them to go to the voting location,” Thea McDonald, the deputy national press secretary for the Trump campaign, said in a statement released to Channel 8.

On Thursday, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri told WTSP that he does not believe this is a case of voter intimidation.

"Their mere presence alone here yesterday is not a problem, is not unlawful, is not voter intimidation," Gualtieri told a WTSP reporter.

The sheriff said one of the men was an off-duty licensed security guard with Syotos LLC, and authorized to open carry firearms, but there wasn't any evidence showing the pair were connected to the Trump campaign or the Republican Party.

The security company gave a statement with Channel 10 about the events that said:

"We do not have any employees engaging in poll watching. We had an off duty employee who was picking up a family member who happened to be in the vicinity of a polling location. The employee saw someone they knew near the polling location and had a short conversation. Again, this employee was off duty and was in no way engaging in poll watching. The employee was (stopped) by a local deputy that had every right to ask what was happening. The employee made it clear that they were not affiliated with the polling (booth). The officer just had on their gear from leaving work and that was taken out of context."

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said deputies will be at Pinellas County early voting sites from Thursday through Nov. 2 when early voting ends to ensure voter safety.

Mayor Rick Kriseman said in a tweet on Thursday, "Voter intimidation will not be tolerated here. Please contact law enforcement if you witness any form of intimidation, including the presence of armed security guards. Voting in Pinellas County is safe. It always has been. We will ensure that remains the case."