Katherine Harris’s Car Trouble
Cops: Florida man tried to run down controversial Republican
OCTOBER 27–A Florida man has been charged with attempting to run over controversial Republican congresswoman Katherine Harris with his Cadillac. According to the below Sarasota Police Department report, Barry Seltzer, 46, told cops that he was simply exercising his “political expression” when he drove his car at Harris and several supporters, who were campaigning last night at a Sarasota intersection. Seltzer–pictured at right in a booking photo–allegedly drove up on a sidewalk and headed directly for Harris before swerving “at the last minute.” Harris told officers that “she was afraid for her life and could not move as the vehicle approached her,” according to the report. For his part, Seltzer–who’s a registered Democrat–told cops, “I intimidated them with the car. They were standing in the street.” He added, “I did not run them down, I scared them a little!” That explanation did not stop investigators from arresting Seltzer for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a felony. Harris, Florida’s former secretary of state, is best known for her role in the aftermath of the state’s disastrous 2000 presidential election.