A Warrick County Sheriff’s Office investigator is accusing Kellie Moore, a Democratic Party candidate for the District 64 seat of the Indiana House of Representatives, of battery against a public official, a charge Moore vehemently denies.
As of Thursday afternoon, no official charges had been filed against Moore.
The accusation appears in the probable cause affidavit for Amanda Bennett, the woman who was tackled by sheriff’s deputy Dan Bullock during a town hall event for Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith in Newburgh on Wednesday night.
Bennett had been arguing with Beckwith before law enforcement asked her to leave. As she headed for the exit, she turned toward Bullock and yelled for him to leave her alone. He then tackled her to the ground, adding to the chaos of an already charged event. Bennett was preliminarily charged with battery against a public safety official Thursday afternoon. An affidavit of probable cause for Bennett’s arrest accuses her of pushing Bullock.
“After creating space, another female, later identified as Kellie Moore, struck Deputy Bullock,” the affidavit reads. “I am requesting that Kellie also be charged with battery on law enforcement.”
The Courier & Press contacted Moore after obtaining the affidavit. She said she was unaware of the accusation before a reporter told her about it.
“I did not touch him,” she said multiple times. “And I have the whole thing on video.”
Moore directed the Courier & Press to videos posted on her Facebook page. Ten minutes of footage shot by Moore shows deputies lifting Bennett from the carpet of the main room and leading her toward the door. As Bullock attempts to drag Bennett away from a small crowd, there’s brief commotion and screaming.
In a video of the same incident shot by the Courier & Press from a different angle, Bullock can be seen making contact with another woman, who then falls to the floor. Moore stands next to Bullock as it happens. Moore briefly extends her arm in the aftermath, but the footage does not conclusively show her make any kind of contact.
Moore was not arrested on scene, and hadn’t been taken into custody or charged as of Thursday afternoon. On Wednesday, the Courier & Press later witnessed a different Warrick County sheriff’s deputy apologizing to Moore outside for raising his voice at her.
In video shot by Moore, Bennett also denies making contact with Bullock. Just after being tackled and handcuffed, she said Bullock made contact with her first.
“I was leaving. This man got right behind me and touched me with his body first,” Bennett says in the video.
The other deputy then attempts to speak with her. What he says is inaudible.
“Maybe he shouldn’t have f—ing tackled me,” Bennett says in reply. “That was unnecessary as f—.”
Bennett has since been preliminarily charged with battery against a public safety official as a Level 6 felony. She also faces misdemeanor counts of resisting law enforcement and disorderly conduct.
As the chaos unfolded en route to the door, another man was apprehended by a sheriff’s official. In the video, he’s seen yelling at another attendee. The man, later identified as Matthew Eike, was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor count of resisting law enforcement and two counts of disorderly conduct.
Who is Kellie Moore?
Moore previously mounted a campaign for U.S. Congress, planning to run for Indiana’s Eighth District seat. She was ultimately disqualified from the race due to a mistake on her paperwork that she said was found too late. Her current bid for the Indiana House seat is in District 64, which covers parts of Knox, Gibson and Posey counties.Moore addressed Beckwith on Wednesday evening before the town hall was shut down. She introduced herself as a Princeton, Indiana, resident who grew up in Evansville.She told Beckwith about having to choose between getting a job outside the home and being able to keep affordable housing.
Living in income-based housing, Moore said her fiancé works and makes $30,000 a year. If she were to get a job, their housing rate would double and the couple would also have to find money for childcare.
In that instance, her entire paycheck would go to those two new expenses. And work requirements for potential assistance program make things even more difficult.
While talking with Beckwith, Moore also brought up school vouchers and the construction of a helicopter pad at Indiana Gov. Mike Braun’s home. According to an Indiana Capital Chronicle story published Wednesday, Braun has used a helicopter to fly from Indianapolis to his home in Jasper – a 120-mile trip – 8 times between March and August. The state used $1,745.55 in public money to install a 20-foot-by-20-foot gravel pad at his home earlier this year.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Investigator accuses Indiana House candidate of battery at Beckwith event; she denies it
Reporting by Jon Webb and Sarah Loesch, Evansville Courier & Press / Evansville Courier & Press
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