YORK COUNTY, Pa.– Scott Wagner, a Republican state senator and gubernatorial candidate, was caught on camera grabbing an opposition trackers camera while at a speaking engagement in York County on Tuesday.
The video was posted Wednesday on the American Bridge 21st Century website, a Democratic super PAC.
The incident unfolded while Sen. Wagner was giving a speech at the Country Club of York located in Spring Garden Township. During his speech, Wagner spotted a man with a video camera in the back of the room. When Wagner approached the unidentified man, he discovered he was an opposition tracker and a confrontation ensued.
The term “tracker” is the act of following around a candidate to every event and videotaping them. The trackers hope is to catch the politician saying something dumb, offensive or off-message so it can be used against them.
Both Democrats and Republicans alike have invested millions of dollars in following candidates around to various events.
The confrontation starts at the 4:46 mark.
The tracker recorded a second video with his cellphone as he tried to get his video equipment back. In the video Wagner is seen trying to block the camera and the tracker claims Wagner assaulted him.
Wagner’s campaign manager, Jason High, released this statement on Wednesday afternoon:
“Yesterday a tracker, from a Washington D.C. liberal special interest group funded by dark money and supporting Tom Wolf, lied and trespassed on private property for a speech that I was giving in my role as a Senator. Instead of leaving when he was asked the tracker continued to harass me and the people at the event, and finally I assisted in removing his camera. There are times when there is no choice but to stand up and confront the cheater in the room. I requested that club management call local police to assist in removing the trespasser from the premises.
Let me be crystal clear – Tom Wolf is not going to intimidate me during this campaign. I welcome his attacks and the attacks of the liberal special interests. We need a Governor who is strong enough to stand up for the people of Pennsylvania – and I can assure you that no one will be stronger than me when it comes to putting the everyday lives of Pennsylvania families first.”
