Louisville Police Arrest Man Accused of Interfering With Election

File photo of police tape. Andri Tambunan/AFP via Getty Images

A man in Kentucky was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly interfering with an election after he wielded a pole at a polling location in Louisville and made “threatening gestures” to voters, according to authorities.

The suspect has been identified as 40-year-old Jacen Cockerell. The Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) said that police responded to a report of a “disorderly person” at 9.17 a.m. on Nov. 7 at the Molly Leonard Portland Community Center in Louisville.

Upon arrival, officers learned that Mr. Cockerell had allegedly been “making threatening gestures” toward voters while “wielding a flag attached to a fishing pole.” His actions intimidated at least one person from voting, the LMPD said.

Mr. Cockerell was also accused of damaging a voting machine by “ripping off the printer attached to the machine,” according to police.

He was arrested and transported to the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections for booking.

The suspect was charged with two counts of menacing, one count of tampering and destruction of a voting machine, and one count of interfering with an election.

Kentucky Election

The Kentucky governor’s race has been one of the nation’s most closely watched elections this year and could provide hints of what will happen in presidential and congressional campaigns in 2024.

With 78 percent of the vote counted, Kentucky Democrat Gov. Andy Beshear was declared the winner by securing 53 percent compared to 47 percent for Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron, according to Decision Desk HQ.

(Left) Incumbent Democratic Gov. of Kentucky Andy Beshear speaks to a crowd on his last campaign stop before the election in Louisville, Ky., on Nov. 6, 2023. ; (Right) Republican candidate for governor of Kentucky, Attorney General Daniel Cameron speaks to the press during a campaign event in Louisville, Ky., on Nov. 6, 2023. (Michael Swensen/Getty Images)Michael Swensen/Getty Images

“Tonight, Kentucky made a choice, a choice not to move to the right or to the left but to move forward for every single family,” Mr. Beshear told a crowd of supporters in Louisville.

Mr. Beshear rode his stewardship over record economic growth and his handling of multiple disasters, from tornadoes and floods to the COVID-19 pandemic, to victory over Mr. Cameron, the state’s attorney general who is backed by former President Donald Trump.

Leading to Nov. 7, only two Republicans had been elected governor of Kentucky in the past 50 years, but the state has gradually shifted to be more conservative. Republicans have won the state in nine of the past 11 presidential elections.

Jeff Louderback and The Associated Press contributed to this report.