A voter registration deputy for Delaware County has returned to work following an arrest on suspicion of attacking a reporter for The Star Press who was interviewing a Ball State University student.
William Statom was released from Delaware County Jail on $2,500 bond after he was arrested after Wednesday's emergency election board meeting, according to jail officials.
Delaware County Clerk Steve Craycraft said Statom made comments that offended many Ball State students during the meeting, referring to the students as "you people."
"During the meeting, [Statom] was talking about problems with some of the voter registrations, and he made a lot of comments offending them," Craycraft said. "He started off aggravated because of the Dave [Matthews] concert where they did a lot of registration .... Right off the bat he offended people by what he had just said."
Sophomore Johanna Perez said reporter Nick Werner was interviewing her outside the meeting room when Statom made a sarcastic comment. Werner responded by saying "Shut up," Perez said, which sounded like banter to her.
"[Statom] grabbed his throat and threw him against the wall," Perez said. "They both fell to the floor and punches were being thrown. It was just complete chaos."
Craycraft said Barry Welsh, a congressional candidate for Indiana's sixth district, stepped in to help break up the fight, at which point he was struck in the eye by Statom. Statom would not comment about the incident.
Phone calls to Werner's office were not returned Thursday evening.
The election board called the emergency meeting to decide how to fill a vacant position to help with a recent flood of voter registrations. Board members were concerned the incomplete staff would prevent the county from registering all the new voters.
Perez said Statom said during the meeting the students who registered would not bother to vote.
"I am a Ball State student and a youth voter, and I was very offended," she said.
The entire meeting had been heated, Perez said, but Statom's actions were unjustifiable.
"I would not say it was anything that would make them that irate," she said. "He has a serious anger management problem."
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