Edgewater Mayor Diezel DePew, 22, is facing a battery complaint after allegedly hitting a woman with a political campaign sign during a confrontation at an early voting site.
The altercation occurred at 11:42 p.m. on August 7, the night before early voting for the August 18 primary election started, at the New Smyrna Beach Regional Library.
Donna McDavid, a disabled veteran with ALS, told The News-Journal she was at the library because someone had vandalized the Republican Party tent where she was volunteering.
Depew called New Smyrna Beach Police to report that someone moved his campaign sign.
Video shows McDavid stepping onto the space ahead of DePew, and then DePew posting the sign directly in front of her.
“He chose to put it against me,” she said. “He knows me personally…. He was pushing that sign into me.”
James Rose, another Republican campaign volunteer, said he and McDavid had left by 8 or 8:30 that night after helping put up tents for the party and signs for GOP candidates. When he drove past the library an hour or two later, he noticed DePew had posted a sign in front of McCloskey’s tent.
He said he took out his camera, and DePew and his parents – who were with him – “panicked” and left.
Rose stayed, and McDavid rejoined him, setting up the 11:42 confrontation. McDavid said if Rose hadn’t stood next to her and supported her when DePew was planting his sign in her face, she would have been knocked to the ground.
Officer Nicholas Edwards observed DePew placing the two legs of the sign in the ground next to McDavid. “He then rotated the sign up to plant it in the ground,” according to Edwards’ account. “During that event, I observed the sign come very close to (McDavid’s) face. I would estimate it to be one or two inches away at most.”
The officer at the scene ordered the parties involved to step back, then asked DePew: “Is there a reason you put it right in front of her and pushed it against her?”
After Rose is shown standing next to McDavid, DePew cries out: “You’re not touching my sign! He’s touching my sign! There you go; it’s on body cam. He touched me.”
Depew denied the allegation, calling it a “baseless character attack.” “This did not occur. She moved toward me.”
“I’ve never been accused of being aggressive in my life. This is just a baseless character attack,” he said.
On Sunday, DePew released a statement on his Facebook page disputing the accusations made against him. He said a “false police report” had been filed against him, and said he was “lawfully putting up campaign signs”. “The three witnesses that viewed this outrageous conduct against me were not interviewed at the scene or still at all,” DePew wrote.
“I take any allegation involving law enforcement seriously, which is precisely why the facts matter. I will cooperate fully with any appropriate investigation and will provide any relevant evidence and information necessary to establish an accurate account of what occurred.”
In the initial report, an officer said he saw a campaign sign Depew was holding come close to a person’s face but could not confirm whether the sign made contact with the person’s body.
A second report, filed by a different officer the following day, states the person involved claimed she was struck by the sign after Depew placed it in the ground and pushed it against her body.
New Smyrna Beach Police have forwarded a misdemeanor battery complaint against Edgewater Mayor Diezel DePew to the 7th Circuit State Attorney’s Office for review.
Though police responded to the incident, as of August 10, no charges have been filed and no injuries have been reported.
Depew is currently running for reelection as Edgewater’s mayor. He has served as mayor for more than three years and was elected at age 18, making him the youngest elected official in Florida at the time.
He is seeking re-election on the August 18 ballot, with two challengers, Wayne McCluskey and Steven Oleksy.
The controversy follows prior allegations against the young mayor.
Videos appear to show Edgewater’s 20-year-old mayor with a can of Arizona Hard Green Tea, rapping lyrics to the Hydracoque & Nigpro track “N****s in My Butthole,” and crying out, “I need alcohol!” The videos were posted online by Edgewater resident Anthony Kianvar, who spoke during two public comment periods at Monday’s City Council meeting overseen by DePew.
DePew, who made history as the youngest elected official in Florida at 17, has not been charged with any crimes, but a person who recorded videos of him claims he was drinking underage and acting inappropriately at the bar.
Mayor Diezel Depew was elected on November 8, 2022 and made history as the youngest elected official in the State of Florida’s history.
DePew made headlines when he was elected as one of the nation’s youngest mayors in 2022 at 18. He beat a former mayor facing charges he stole his opponent’s campaign signs.
Michael Ignasiak was caught on video taking campaign signs belonging to his opponent, 18-year-old Diezel Depew, from the nearby JC’s Riptides seafood restaurant.
The case against an Edgewater mayoral candidate accused of stealing his opponent’s campaign signs was dropped, according to court documents released Thursday.
The State Attorney’s Office will review the battery complaint before any decision on charges.