West Virginia state Senate candidate, a veteran, brutally beaten
West Virginia state Senate candidate Richard Ojeda was brutally beaten during a cookout Sunday — just two days before his primary — and nearly run over with a pickup truck, Ojeda told NBC News.
Jonathan Stuart Porter, 41, was in custody Sunday. State Trooper Zachary Holden told NBC News he was being held on suspicion of malicious assault, malicious attempted assault and felony destruction of property.
In an interview from his hospital room in Charleston, Ojeda, 45, a Democrat and military veteran whose primary contest is Tuesday, said he had been at a barbecue in the mountains about 60 miles southwest of Charleston when Porter asked for a bumper sticker.
Ojeda, who said he has known Porter since they were kids, placed one on the rear bumper of Porter’s truck. Then Porter asked for a second one on the vehicle’s front grill.
“That’s all I remember,” Ojeda said. “When I woke up, my head was on a tree stump covered in blood. Everyone was looking at me.”
Ojeda suffered eight bone fractures and three lacerations to his face, as well as exterior swelling to his head, he said.
Ojeda’s primary opponent, state Sen. Art Kirkendoll, said in a statement that he was praying for Ojeda and wished him a full recovery.
“I was informed that my opponent was physically assaulted and injured at a political function today,” Kirkendoll said. “I do not now, nor have I ever, condoned violence. It has no place in our political campaigns or in our communities.”
Ojeda said witnesses told him that he was kicked and struck with brass knuckles, although Holden said he found no evidence of the weapon and Porter denied using them.
Afterward, when the assailant got in his truck, a neighbor who witnessed the beating jumped in between the vehicle and Ojeda.
“He feared Porter was going to hit him,” Holden said.
The attacker spun out in the gravel, and when a second neighbor tried to block his exit with an ATV, the driver rammed the quad several times, Holden said, adding that the man eventually ran over it — along with a second ATV whose driver also tried to block him.
Porter called police and peacefully turned himself in after hiding out in the mountains for six hours, Holden said.
UPDATE: West Virginia State Senate candidate speaks out from hospital room
I can’t help but wonder if Ojeda’s opponent is behind this incident. Desperate people do desperate things. Why would this Porter just attack Ojeda? What’s the motive? Ojeda ran for U.S. Congress in 2014. He lost his primary fight against Nick Rahall, the long-time incumbent. Then Rahall lost in the fall election to Evan Jenkins, a State Senator. The funny thing is that Evan Jenkins had been a Democrat for years, but changed his party affiliation to Republican to run against Rahall. West Virginia used to be Democratic, but it has been changing since 2000. It will morph into a totally red state one day, unless there are changes. The state has a lot of problems, but it doesn’t look like any one really cares about the poverty and desperation. Only Bernie Sanders talks about these issues.
Richard Ojeda was declared the winner of the Democratic primary for the state senate 7th district. With 89% reporting: Ojeda: 56% Kirendoll: 44%. It’s good to see a little justice sometime. It’s out there. I hope we get to see some more!
Thx for the follow-up!
Speaking to people in the area-
Those who have dealt or worked with Ojeda all say he is an arrogant a**hole and any beating he got could just as easily be personal as political.
Jon Porter is a child hood acquaintance of Ojeda and is not some political hit man. However, Porter’s brother is a longtime political fixture in the county courthouse and there may be something between the two polically.
Kirkendoll is another long time politician in the area, but too smart to be so overt in a physical attack.
It was discussed that Ojeda could have called the hit on himself to get the sympathy vote, which seemed to have pushed him over the top against the popular Kirkendoll.
Time past in something of this nature, Ojeda’s truck would have been shot up or a stick of dynamite would placed in it, so there is that.
R
Thanks for the info. The whole thing was strange, but I don’t live there. I read that some people thought Ojeda had someone do that to get the sympathy vote, but I have doubts about that too. Ojeda had some serious facial injuries. If Ojeda is how you describe, he will face an opponent in the Fall and may not get elected. It’s quite a story. May the best man win!
A little more on this. Heard 2nd hand from people at the cook out. Ojeda was talking smack about Porter’s family that day. What he’s going to do to them once he gets in office….etc… Porter “dared” him to put a bumper sticker on his car. Ojeda leaned over to do so and the beating began.
Also heard that lawsuits may start over what Ojeda posted on social media about local politicians. Libel and slander suits. It has to be pretty bad or Ojeda is particularly hated for Logan Co politicians to go that far. Usually these things are settled privately or during the next election.
The man Ojeda defeated, Art Kirkendoll, was seen squiring Jim Justice around and rumor is he is one of those being considered for Chief of Staff position. Politicos in the county would get a kick out of Ojeda having to go to Kirkendoll hat in had to get something.
That’s all my sources tell me. Everyone in the courthouses of that district are closed mouth as he will be the next district Senator and folks don’t want to get on his wrong side. He holds a grudge.
R
Thanks for the update. Now it makes more sense. I know politics is a dirty business; but if Ojeda offends too many people, he will get taken down somehow. He better work very hard for his district and be loyal to whom he needs to be loyal or his career will be short-lived. Time will tell.
Well, I don’t know the man and without the national attention to this incident, no one would care. It does reinforce the semi-stereotypes of crazy hillbillies and look at their antics.
But I do know that part of the state and speaking to people from a wide variety of contacts with him, all but one agree that he is a PITA. He was in the military, he was out of the military and he is as a politician.
In small communities, if you want to start making a political step up, either you join the club of the existing machine or you try to break in from the outside. Evidently Ojeda has been trying to break in a couple of times and been working on service boards and organizations to spread his name. People who have worked with him all agree he is a major “a**hole”.
Now the question for any state legislator, will he be effective for his district? Can Ojeda be with his reported personality? Will he become the WV Legislature’s Ted Cruz? maybe.
R
One of the reasons this diary caught my attention is that some of my mother’s family was from Kentucky. I instantly thought uh-oh. (Having done her family history, there is some evidence of the semi-stereotype of crazy hillbillies in the 1800’s, though.) What I have studied about WV is that it is somewhat different from Kentucky, et al. Perhaps because it came about due to the Civil War. I don’t like any group of people being denigrated. I know Hollywood tried to correct the cultural misconceptions regarding this group by airing “The Beverly Hillbillies”. I’m not sure they were totally successful, although I don’t believe this story received national attention.
The differences about WV vs other “Appalachian” states.
“Extremely” rugged terrain throughout most of the state.
Westward flowing rivers which bound that part of Virginia culturally and economically to Ohio River basin before the Civil War (Ohio,Ky, Ill. Ind and further west) as opposed to Virginia and the South.
All of the state is in the App Mts, while other states just have portions in the mountains. That means within each state you have contending interests which can balance or moderate the influence of one industry or economy against the other. WV, since the railroad made it into the mountains has been extraction. Timber, coal, gas. Nothing else. (agriculture and manufacturing, very minor). And they have controlled the courthouses and legislature.
Add to those the absentee land ownership and you have the state and its problems today.
Ridge
Thanks for clearing up my confusion about the Appalachian states and WV.
○ West Virginia Judge Latest Member of ‘Courthouse Gang’ in Corruption Plea
○ FBI’s Sham Candidate Crawled Under W.Va.’s Political Rock | WaPo – 2005 |
○ Stalking the Spite Voter in the WV Wilds | Balloon Juice |
This Ojeda story is taking on a life of its own. I didn’t even know the man prior to your diary and now I feel like I’m reading a Grisham novel.
I don’t read Balloon Juice. I examined in more detail those graphs. Sometimes these analyses are based on an incomplete research model, resulting in faulty conclusions.
Balloon Juice is right-wing … ’nuff said.