Tennessee governor candidate arrested in Hamilton County
Chattanooga police arrested Charles Van Morgan — who is running for governor of Tennessee as an independent — Monday at the Hamilton County Elections Commission, after complaints of a man harassing voters came in to the department, while Van Morgan said he was “early campaigning.”
“This is not a free and fair election,” Van Morgan said in a phone interview with the Chattanooga Times Free Press on Tuesday. “I was out there campaigning. This is the most corrupt county I have seen in Tennessee. People are worried about Russia when there’s corrupt Hamilton County.”
Shortly before noon, Chattanooga police responded to a call of a man who was “getting in people’s faces” at the Election Commission office at 700 River Terminal Road, according to a sworn affidavit by an officer seeking Van Morgan’s arrest.
“A voter who wished to remain anonymous, approached the police and stated she was yelled at by the suspect,” the affidavit said. “She stated she did not feel safe walking back to her vehicle and requested the police to escort her.”
The man later identified by officers as Van Morgan was allegedly “screaming about politics, cursing and getting in people’s faces and harassing the voters,” according to the affidavit, and was further identified by two employees of the Hamilton County Election Commission as the reason behind the calls made to the police.
In an email to the Chattanooga Times Free Press on Tuesday, the commission stood by the statements made to the responding Police Department officers.
“Shortly after Mr. (Van) Morgan arrived at the Hamilton County Election Commission office, we began receiving complaints from voters and others on site campaigning that they were feeling threatened and intimidated by Mr. (Van) Morgan,” Scott Allen, the administrator of elections, said in an email. “We sent out an employee to let Mr. (Van) Morgan know he would need to tone it down and quit being so aggressive towards voters. He began yelling at said employee and refused to adjust his tone towards the public visiting our office to vote.
After additional complaints from voters, we called the Chattanooga PD to assist with the situation. At this point we had no further engagement with Mr. (Van) Morgan.”
According to the affidavit, Van Morgan became defensive while speaking to Chattanooga officers and tried to walk away from them, after they informed him he was not free to leave.
“Mr. (Van) Morgan then pulled away from myself and Sgt. (Mark) Bender. We then fell onto the ground and attempted to place handcuffs on Mr. Morgan,” the affidavit said. “Sgt. Bender’s knee fell onto Mr. (Van) Morgan’s back during this. He was resisting to place his hands behind his back.”
In response, Van Morgan alleges the Chattanooga police officers who arrested him fractured some of his ribs and were the ones who approached him aggressively.
“I did nothing wrong,” Van Morgan said, adding that the charges pressed against him were false. “They alleged that I got into voters’ faces. Ask them to show that video (body camera footage). They can’t because it doesn’t exist.”
The affidavit further stated that Van Morgan was transported to Erlanger hospital after he began complaining of pain on his left side.
“There were no injuries found on Mr. (Van) Morgan,” the affidavit said.
Van Morgan obtained a master’s degree in sociology from the University of Tennessee in 2001 and law degree from the Nashville School of Law in 2016, according to his LinkedIn page. Van Morgan has worked as a state trooper and an account executive for Safe Taxi, the social media page says.
“I will never come back here,” Van Morgan said of Hamilton County.
The Times Free Press has put in a request to the city attorney’s office that the body camera footage of the officers involved be released by the Chattanooga police.
Van Morgan was booked into Silverdale Detention Center and charged with one count of resisting arrest, one count of disorderly conduct and one count of interference with another’s rights/election laws. He was released on his own recognizance.
Van Morgan is scheduled to appear Jan. 10 before Hamilton County General Session Court Judge Lila Statom.