American Bridge fires tracker after alleged assault, GOP staffers say he’s been ‘hostile and combative’ for years – By John Sexton (hotair.com) / Oct 18 2018
Yesterday a “tracker” named Mike Stark who was working for David Brock’s American Bridge 21st Century was arrested after he allegedly assaulted the female campaign manager for a GOP gubernatorial candidate in Nevada. Last night Stark was fired “effective immediately.” Today, Fox News reports that other campaign staffers were very familiar with Stark. They say he has always been extremely aggressive, even compared to other trackers monitoring candidates.
“He is widely known among members and staffers as being a real problem on Capitol Hill—not for asking tough questions, but because he’s so openly hostile and combative,” a GOP aide told Fox News. “It’s become a real security concern.”
The aide added: “Aggressive, belligerent, inappropriate—no words do this guy justice.”
“We deal with trackers all the time, but he is far and above more hostile and unprofessional than any others,” the aide said.
Conn Carroll, communications director for Sen. Mike Lee said on Twitter that he’s known Stark for years and this is always how he as behaved:
https://twitter.com/conncarroll/status/1052908352894832640
Rep. Barbara Comstock also weighed in on Twitter:
Mike Stark who harassed our campaign on the 4th of July was arrested last night for assaulting a female campaign manager in Nevada. This is the resistance. Below is a picture of Stark with Team Wexton (pink shirt)…story of his latest arrest: https://t.co/BDhKcwk9BA #VA10 pic.twitter.com/8FEe30bh5l
— Barbara Comstock (@BarbaraComstock) October 17, 2018
Yesterday isn’t the first time Stark has crossed the line between aggressive and illegal behavior:
Stark was hired by American Bridge in January. The following month, he was found guilty of disorderly conduct and ordered to pay a $500 fine in connection with an October 2017 incident at a Virginia parade, where then-GOP gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie was campaigning. Stark, then an employee of ShareBlue Media, was arrested after he approached a vehicle carrying Gillespie…
A month after his disorderly conduct conviction, Stark faced more allegations after he confronted Heather Swift, a female staffer for Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, following a March 15 congressional hearing. According to a Capitol Police report, Stark approached Zinke after a House hearing and started yelling at him. As Zinke continued walking out of the hearing room, the report said Stark “used his full body to push” Swift as she tried to follow her boss.
Stark was arrested and charged with simple assault.
I guess we’ll see how long it takes before some other left-wing group hires this guy.
