A video posted by The Connecticut Centinal shows Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont reaching toward a citizen journalist’s phone during a get-out-the-vote event the outlet said was in Stamford. The exchange began when the reporter tried to ask about a recent incident involving a Lamont campaign worker.
The question that sparked the moment
The Centinal identified the reporter as Jackie Homan. According to the Western Journal’s account, Homan approached Lamont with her phone recording and began, “I heard your campaign manager was pulled over by the cops the other day…” The Western Journal describes the staffer in question, Rob Blanchard, as a former gubernatorial staffer now working on Lamont’s campaign and running for the state Senate. The outlet did not identify him as campaign manager.
Two weeks earlier, around 11 p.m. on Oct. 20, Blanchard reportedly drove his Jeep Grand Cherokee into a construction hole. The Western Journal, citing an officer’s report, quoted the officer as writing that “Blanchard disregarded his traffic control, maneuvered past his police cruiser and his verbal order to stop, and subsequently drove into the closed travel lane and into the hole.” According to the same report, Blanchard disputed that account, saying “he was directed into the other travel lane due to a lane closure” and that “he was blinded by construction lights.” He was issued an infraction for failure to obey a police signal.
What the video shows—and what witnesses say
In the Centinal’s clip, Lamont responds as Homan begins her question: “What is this about? This doesn’t look like it’s a fair deal to me,” then reaches toward the phone. The Western Journal states Lamont “attempted to swat” the device and made contact. Homan later wrote, “I was in shock. I could not believe what had just happened. I honestly thought the sitting governor of Connecticut was going to strike me or break my phone,” adding, “I had to grip the phone tightly to keep it from flying out of my hand.” As Lamont walked away, she can be heard saying, “You’re not supposed to be touching my camera. That’s assault.”
The Western Journal also wrote that less than half an hour later, as the rally ended, Lamont “wrapped his arm around the reporter’s waist and pulled her into a group picture.”
Lamont, campaign, and bystander responses
Local station WFSB asked Lamont about the incident. The station quoted him saying, “I think Ryan’s getting desperate,” referring to Republican gubernatorial nominee Ryan Fazio, and, “Maybe somebody came to an event and tried to stir up some trouble.”
WFSB also quoted a statement from the Lamont campaign: “For the last several months, political provocateurs have shown up to disrupt the Governor’s events, both official and campaign… It’s no surprise that Ryan Fazio, whose campaign has failed to gain traction with voters, is now desperately trying to manufacture any sign of life by deploying these faux journalists to harass the Governor, get uncomfortably close to him, and shove cameras in his face.”
According to WFSB, a bystander, Lauren Meyer, said, “The woman got too close to the Governor and he was caught off guard, and he flicked his hand in the direction of the camera. He did not slap her phone, and he never made physical contact with her, so this narrative that is being pushed is absurd.”
Homan responded that Meyer witnessed the exchange but “did not view me as a threat, or she would have stepped between us,” calling the claim that Lamont “did not slap her phone” an “obvious lie.”
On the ballot
The Western Journal notes that both Lamont and Blanchard are on Connecticut ballots Tuesday.
Editor’s note: Patriot Nation Press has not independently verified the video or the parties’ claims beyond the cited reporting and posts.
