Arrest of Photographer Near Voters Draws Suit

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. —  A freelance journalist taking pictures of voters waiting outside the Palm Beach County elections headquarters was arrested after ignoring a deputy’s orders to stop, sheriff’s officials said.

In response, a voting rights group filed suit, asking a court to order elections chief Theresa LePore and the sheriff’s office to allow reporters access to voters.

“There is no justification for an elections official to seize authority to suspend the 1st Amendment of the United States Constitution,” said Ralph G. Neas, president of People for the American Way Foundation, the group that filed the lawsuit.

James S. Henry, of Sag Harbor, N.Y., was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest without violence. He was released on $500 bond Monday.

Sheriff’s Deputy Al Cinque tried to stop Henry as he shot pictures of about 600 people standing in line to vote Sunday afternoon. Henry began running away, but Cinque tackled him, the Palm Beach Post reported.

The deputy pinned Henry, 54, to the ground, yelled at him to stop moving, then punched him in the back. Cinque handcuffed Henry’s left arm, pulled him up and punched him again as Henry tried to show identification cards, according to the paper.

Sheriff’s office spokesman Paul Miller said Monday that Henry “tripped over his own feet” as he ran away. He was heading toward the building’s front door, and the deputy “has to use whatever reasonable force is necessary under the circumstances,” Miller said.

Miller said the deputy had asked Henry to move to another area to snap pictures.

“His actions were compromising the elections process and intimidating people that were attempting to wait to vote,” Miller said. “He was in their faces.”

LePore was enforcing a law that prohibits reporters from coming within 50 feet of a polling place’s front door to interview or photograph voters.

LePore, who lost her reelection bid in August, became known nationally four years ago for designing the “butterfly ballot.” Some say its complicated design caused thousands of Palm Beach voters who intended to support Vice President Al Gore for president to miscast their ballot.

Assistant Palm Beach County Atty. Leon St. John said LePore began enforcing the 50-feet law because she received “numerous complaints by voters about being photographed and interviewed.”