Who sent texts supporting mayoral candidate in the middle of the night?

A candidate in the Plantation mayor’s race said there’s a new political strategy: Antagonize voters because they are roused at all hours in the middle of the night.

Voters — cops aren’t sure how many — were bombarded with texts Wednesday night through Thursday morning saying that Plantation law enforcement supports Lynn Stoner for mayor.

Stoner said she got calls all night as more people got the texts. Some voters received six or seven of the texts. When they replied “stop,” they got another one.

Most of the texts were received between 6 p.m. Wednesday and 6 a.m. Thursday. One string of five texts forwarded to Stoner were sent at 12:15 a.m., 1:47 a.m., 3:19 a.m. 4:51 a.m. and 6:23 a.m.

Plantation’s cops do endorse Stoner for mayor, but they say they had nothing to do with the poorly timed messages.

“We, the F.O.P., would never sanction or engage in political activity that would disturb the residents of the City during overnight hours,” the Plantation Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 42 wrote Thursday in a Facebook post addressed “To the residents of Plantation.”

“Furthermore, law enforcement agencies would not contact residents of the City directly via message unless they were doing so to pass on relevant emergency information or information about police related activity.”

Cops are mystified: “We can’t even begin to know who it is,” said police officer and union Vice President Luci Brito. “We would never do something so inflammatory. I just feel bad for the residents of our city who were bothered at 2, 3

and 5 in the morning. It’s horrible, especially for people who have to work the next morning.”

Stoner has four competitors in the race to replace Mayor Diane Veltri Bendekovic who is retiring: Councilman Pete Tingom, and political newcomers Bart Berger, Aron Davis and Jennifer Izaguirre.

The texts “didn’t say anything nasty about me, but it was repeated and repeated and repeated. I’ve been awake all night. [People] figured if they’re awake I should be awake and I’m saying ‘Honest to God, I didn’t do it and the police did not do this,’ ” Stoner said.

She said she will file complaints with the Federal Communications Commission and the Florida Elections Commission.

COURTESY PHOTO Plantation residents got spam texts in the middle of the night that claimed the police union endorses Lynn Stoner, but neither said they sent it.