Scott Perry has held this seat in Congress since 2013; after the state supreme court redrew the map in 2018, it became Pennsylvania's 10th District. Polls show he's now slightly behind his Democratic challenger, former TV news anchor Janelle Stelson. On October 19, his campaign put out a new 30-second ad. It accuses Stelson of exposing herself to a child.
There is no evidence for it. That's what WITF found when it looked into the ad, in a story republished by the Pennsylvania Capital-Star.
This isn't an outside group's ad. It opens with "I'm Scott Perry and I approve this message," and closes with "Paid for by Patriots for Perry and authorized by Scott Perry." Patriots for Perry is his own campaign committee.
What the ad claims
In the last ten seconds, the ad puts a document on screen with "AFFIDAVIT" written across the top. The camera zooms in on highlighted phrases while a narrator says: "Police have been called to investigate Stelson for exposing herself totally naked to a neighborhood child."
What WITF found
It isn't an affidavit. An affidavit is a sworn statement made under oath. This document is just a written statement from a Perry supporter with a notary's stamp on it. WITF notes there's no legal expectation that a notarized statement like that is accurate, and no clear penalty if it's false.
It came from a neighbor with Perry signs facing Stelson's house. The statement was written by Stelson's next-door neighbor, whose home overlooks part of Stelson's rental and yard. WITF saw Perry signs in her driveway and on her front porch, facing Stelson's home. She told WITF she had no comment.
It doesn't even say where this supposedly happened. The neighbor says she called the local police on Stelson on August 14. Her statement doesn't say where the alleged incident took place.
No charges were filed. Not one.
The Perry campaign blurred the neighbor's name in the ad. But it also released an image of the statement with her name covered in marker, and WITF found her signature could still be read when zoomed in.
The second false claim in the same ad
The ad also repeats a claim that had already been debunked. In September, a man named Igbojekwe Chimaobim was arrested. The Department of Homeland Security said he had Stelson campaign material in his car, and Perry has accused Stelson of hiring him.
She didn't. Federal campaign filings show the Stelson campaign never paid him, and he isn't in the campaign's volunteer list, according to WITF. "This individual is not and has never been employed by the Janelle Stelson campaign," her campaign manager said. "If he is an illegal immigrant who committed a crime he should be deported."
A pattern
"This false accusation is a pathetic, desperate attempt by Scott Perry to rescue his failing campaign, with easily disproven lies," said Alma Baker, Stelson's campaign manager.
That's the opponent talking, so judge it for yourself. But this isn't the first time Perry's campaign has crossed a line. His campaign once posted an antisemitic meme, two months after he told colleagues "replacement theory is real."
He's not the only Republican on this site running false attack ads this year. Ashley Hinson launched a false attack ad within an hour of her Senate opponent winning his primary.
The facts, in short
Scott Perry personally approved a campaign ad accusing Janelle Stelson of exposing herself to a child. The "affidavit" in it is a notarized statement from a neighbor who displays Perry signs facing Stelson's home, it doesn't say where the incident supposedly happened, and no charges were ever filed. The same ad repeats a debunked claim tying Stelson's campaign to an immigrant arrested in September; federal filings and her campaign's records show he never worked for it.
