Indiana House GOP candidate arrested on eve of election

Jim Schenke, the GOP candidate for the 26th House District, was arrested Monday morning and booked into the Tippecanoe County Jail following a complaint on Sunday at around 8:35 p.m. that he had allegedly contacted the victim, who has a protection order against him, the outlet reports, citing Tippecanoe County Chief Deputy Terry Ruley.

He was placed in the jail at around 6:30 a.m., the outlet reports. He is no longer listed on the jail's inmate roster.

Schenke has two protection orders against him from a local attorney and their staff. Schenke also has a protection order against a man who lives in his West Lafayette neighborhood, the Lafayette Journal & Courier reports, citing the state registry.

Ruley said officers investigating the complaint determined there was probable cause to make an arrest on the accusation of violating one of the protection orders.

Schenke took to Facebook to refute the allegations.

"For anyone who cares about honesty, I have been accused of violating a protective order," Schenke says. "In truth, I have a protective order against the sociopath that has been stalking and menacing me for months."

At around 9:40 p.m. Sunday, Schenke also posted a video to Facebook about blue light emergency phone boxes around Purdue University campuses, one of which is in the background. 

Last month, Schenke allegedly drove his campaign motor home into a light post while the vehicle was uninsured. He was charged with operating a motor vehicle without insurance, but the charge was dropped, according to the Exponent.

The Tippecanoe County Election Board has also accused him of inadequately putting political disclaimers in campaign advertisements, while the GOP politician has two recent civil charges against the government, both of which are related to his campaign, the outlet reports.