Campbell, WI – When local Tea Party activist Gregory Luce pissed off Town of Campbell Police Chief Timothy Kelemen, the Chief did what any upstanding law enforcement officer would do, he created accounts using Luce’s name and personal information on gay porn websites, dating websites, and healthcare.gov.
“I’m like, all right, buddy, you cause us a hassle, we’re going to cause you a hassle,” Chief Kelemen said in an interview with investigators posted on a local Tea Party website. “I’m not denying I did it … I didn’t think it was that big of a deal.”
Chief Kelemen’s revenge came in the wake of a bitter battle between his department and the local Tea Party. It began in August 2013 when Luce and his cohorts hung banners on an Interstate 90 pedestrian bridge overpass. The department said the banners were a distraction to motorists, and convinced local authorities to ban them.
The local Tea Party retaliated by returning to the overpass, wearing t-shirts that collectively spelled out “Impeach Obama.” The police kicked them off.
A few days later, Tea Party member Nicholas Newman went to the overpass to wave an American flag. He got cited by police.
In the same interview in which he admitted setting up the false Luce accounts, Chief Kelemen said that the Tea Party started clogging up police phones lines with 300-400 calls a day, and that death threats were being made to his officers.
“I got officers afraid to go on calls,” Kelemen said.
Tea Party members Luce and Newman are suing Chief Kelemen and police officer Nathan Casper for violating their free speech rights. There’s no word yet as to whether Luce has managed to get any dates from the Chief’s online efforts.
