GOP candidate who wanted to protect children from progressives arrested for allegedly masturbating near preschool
‘I f***** up’
A Republican candidate who was running for an Arizona college district’s governing board has suspended his campaign after his arrest on a charge of public sexual indecency after he was allegedly caught masturbating near a preschool.
Randy Kaufman was arrested on 4 October but announced the suspension of his campaign on 18 October following media reports of his arrest.
Mr Kaufman, who was a candidate for the board of Maricopa County Community College District, had previously said in a Facebook post that he wanted “children protected [from] the progressive left.”
He was allegedly found masturbating in his truck by an officer with the county’s community college police.
The report claims that an officer approached Mr Kaufman’s parked truck, where Mr Kaufman “appeared to be looking at a cell phone in one hand.”
“I immediately became alarmed as I saw [Mr Kaufman] had his pants down mid-thigh and was exposed showing his fully erect nude penis,” according to the officer’s account in an affidavit obtained by Law & Crime. “[Mr Kaufman] was manipulating his genitals in a masturbatory manner.”
The officer claimed that Mr Kaufman was in view of a nearby preschool, where children were playing outside.
Mr Kaufman reportedly apologised when he was confronted by the officer.
“I’m sorry,” Mr Kaufman said, according to the report. “I f***** up. I’m really stressed.”
Mr Kaufman reportedly told the officer that he did not know he was near a preschool.
“Are you going to put that in the report?” MrKaufman asked the officer, according to the report.
“Don’t you see how alarming that is?” the officer reportedly replied. “That there are children nearby, people passing on bikes and in cars where they can look and see what you are doing?”
Mr Kaufman’s alleged Facebook posts suggest he is an avid supporter of Donald Trump, endorsing a right-wing agenda against Covid-19 vaccine and masking requirements, support for “election integrity” measures and fierce opposition to Democratic officials.
“Nothing is more important than standing against the Godless/ progressive/ left-wing/ socialist/ marxist/ communist/ Democrat Party Movement to destroy America,” he wrote in a message on 9 July.
In a statement announcing the suspension of his campaign, Mr Kaufman said he “will never stop fighting to protect the United States Constitution and the values that make America the greatest country in the world.”
It is too late for Mr Kaufman’s name to be withdrawn from ballots, as early voting is already underway.