DHS says a man caught with his pants off in a car was canvassing for a Democrat, and her campaign says it had never heard of him

The Department of Homeland Security rarely names a political candidate when it announces an immigration arrest. This week, the Department of Homeland Security used an official press release to attack Janelle Stelson, a Democratic congressional candidate, and a nonpartisan government watchdog has filed a formal complaint. The release tied Stelson to Chimaobim Adedayo Igbojekwe, who was arrested for indecent exposure.

According to the Associated Press, an East Pennsboro Township police report says an officer found Igbojekwe in a vehicle parked near a public park in a Harrisburg suburb. When the officer approached, the report noted that Igbojekwe’s genitals were exposed. Igbojekwe told the officer he was in the area for work and intended to hand out flyers for Stelson.

Igbojekwe produced a stack of flyers, the officer wrote. However, the Stelson campaign has denied any connection, and its campaign finance reports show no payments to him. “If he is an illegal immigrant who committed a crime, he should be deported. We never heard of him prior to the news of his arrest,” the Stelson campaign said.

Homeland Security still hasn’t said how it linked this man to Stelson

The Department of Homeland Security included a political jab in its official announcement regarding the arrest. “It’s unbelievable that Janelle Stelson would employ an illegal alien to work on a congressional campaign, let alone a pervert who exposed himself in public,” said Charles Wall, the deputy director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in the press release.

The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to questions about how it determined that Igbojekwe worked for the campaign. Instead, the press release cited a news report quoting a conservative activist who claimed the connection existed. It is unclear whether Igbojekwe worked as a paid canvasser for a different organization.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a complaint with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, as the organization considers the release a blatant Hatch Act violation. This law prohibits government officials from using their positions to influence elections. Stelson is running against Republican Rep. Scott Perry in Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional District.

Donald Sherman, who leads the organization, said he has never seen a law enforcement agency cite a campaign affiliation this way. The statement is “consistent with the message that the administration and that the president has sent from the top that ICE is to be involved in elections, regardless of what the law says,” Donald Sherman said.

President Donald Trump’s administration is already under scrutiny for using federal resources for political purposes. The Department of Homeland Security has spent millions in taxpayer funds on advertisements promoting the administration’s messaging, drawing two lawsuits. Court records indicate that Igbojekwe was charged with disorderly conduct and indecent exposure, and he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct.

He was later taken into custody by ICE, as Homeland Security officials said he entered the country legally in 2017 and remained past his authorized period. President Joe Biden granted him deferred action in 2021. The complaint now sits with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, which could open an investigation into the Department of Homeland Security. Stelson and Perry are expected to face voters in the November midterms.