Democratic candidate for Arkansas State Auditor in the upcoming midterm elections, Diamond Arnold-Johnson, was arrested last Friday by Little Rock police for a felony count of alleged first-degree terroristic threatening against her husband, Arick. According to the police report, officers went to Arnold-Johnson's home on October 13 to serve her with an arrest warrant. Allegedly, the defendant refused arrest.
In the event of a serious conviction, Arnold-Johnson would be ineligible to run for election under state law. The Arkansas Democratic Party said in a statement that they are "aware" of their candidate's situation and affirmed that they will not prohibit her from running in the election:
Everyone has the right to due process; however, our Party firmly believes people must be held accountable for any criminal behavior, especially candidates for public office. The Democratic Party of Arkansas did not recruit her to run for Auditor of State, and we cannot bar her from running for this position.
On the other hand, Arkansas Treasurer and Republican candidate Dennis Milligan called on the Democratic Party to "repudiate and distance themselves" from the candidate and called for Arnold-Johnson to be barred for having been arrested:
Anyone who has an active felony warrant for their arrest should not be running for office or handling the state’s very important financial business. Rather, their time and energy would benefit more from focusing on their’s and their spouse’s legal morass.
