KINGWOOD — A candidate for the Republican nomination for Preston County sheriff has gone to court, seeking to force Sheriff Dan Loughrie to remove a post from the department’s Facebook page.
Candidate Jason Peaslee also wants the court to order Loughrie not to use the department to influence the 2020 election.
Peaslee says in his petition for injunctive relief that a paragraph in a post put up March 31 “is a political attack and an endorsement of one of its own,” Chief Deputy Paul “Moe” Pritt, who is also on the Republican ticket.
Joel Gordon is also on the Republican ballot for sheriff.
Last week, Preston Circuit Judge Steve Shaffer refused to grant a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. The judge instead set a hearing for Thursday. Due to COVID-19 restrictions set by the State Supreme Court, only the parties and counsel will be permitted to attend in person.
Because the election is June 9 and people are already receiving absentee ballots and the gravity of the allegation in the petition, an immediate hearing is in order, Shaffer said when denying the temporary restraining order.
In the filing, Peaslee says that on March 26, a volunteer in his campaign posted a video on the Jason Peaslee for Preston County Sheriff Facebook page.
“During the video, the volunteer made a statement implying that the Preston County Sheriff’s Office refused to investigate the theft and damage of those signs,” according to the petition.
The sheriff’s office never asked that the video be taken down, Peaslee said. It issued a one-page single-spaced response to media and on the Preston County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page. The response says the department contacted Peaslee’s campaign, but no one contacted officers back about the signs.
The response to criticism of the department on social media was unprecedented, according to the petition. Peaslee spotlights one passage.
It says: “Every four years the residents of Preston County elect a sheriff. Regardless of who the elected sheriff is, the deputies are sworn to protect and serve. The deputies take pride in providing the best possible services to each resident in Preston County. Verbally assassinating the office and the officers has become routine for some seeking this office. This is not about politics, campaigns or an election. This is about defending the honor and integrity of the Preston County Sheriff’s Office and deputies who make daily sacrifices protecting the community they serve.”
It is signed by Loughrie.
On April 1, Peaslee’s attorneys, Bowles Rice, wrote the sheriff, saying his post constituted “improper use of government property and improper use of the department’s office to influence” the election for sheriff.
The attorneys “demand” that the post be taken down and said as a goodwill gesture, the volunteer’s video would be removed as well.
The petition asks the judge to force removal of the sheriff’s post, to require the sheriff to issue a retraction of the statement in local media and to order him not to use the department’s Facebook page or its “notoriety” to influence the election.
Four years ago Loughrie and Peaslee squared off in the Republican primary for Preston sheriff. Loughrie beat Peaslee, getting 62.22% of the vote to Peaslee’s 29.26%.
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