Douglass Swats Cameraman at Farmville Political Event - NBC29 WVIR Charlottesville, VA News, Sports and Weather

Douglass Swats Cameraman at Farmville Political Event

Eight seconds of video from a General John Douglass political event in Farmville earlier this month is bubbling up into the 5th District congressional race Thursday night. 

In the video Douglass, the Democratic candidate, swats at a cameraman recording at the public event.  The Douglass campaign says even though the event was open to the public, their candidate was trying to have a private conversation with a voter.

They released the following statement:

"Instead of ginning up a right-wing hissy fit over a camera bump, Corporate Congressman Robert Hurt's campaign should back off their spying on one-on-one conversations. Voters who are upset over his campaign's invasion of privacy say it's ‘horrible,' ‘skulking' and ‘poor taste' - they rather see Hurt show up to a debate, where he can explain why he subsidizes corporations that outsource jobs, twice votes to end Medicare as we know it, and maintains financial ties to uranium mining that puts Virginia families at risk."

Congressman Hurt's campaign confirms that the photographer is one of their staffers, but says he was covering a public event and had permission to be there.

They go on to say, "Douglass didn't show any professionalism or respect for the public's right to know where he stands on critical issues when he chose to strike the camera."

Hurt's campaign also says the staffer did nothing to instigate Douglass.