Those two armed security guards who were observed standing outside an early voting location in St. Petersburg last month were hired by the Pinellas County Republican Party, according to a report made available today by the St. Petersburg Police Department (SPPD).

The incident made national news last month after it was initially reported that the guards said that they had been hired by the Donald Trump presidential campaign. That report was immediately denied by the Trump campaign, and a spokesman for the security company who employs the two security guards also said at the time that he did not have anybody on his staff working for any political campaign.  

However, an observer who saw the incident play out that day told Spectrum Bay News 9 the following day that one of the security guards had done work for the Pinellas County Republican Party.  

The incident took place on the afternoon of October 21 at the St. Petersburg downtown early voting site at 501 First Avenue North. 

According to the police report, a SPPD officer was dispatched to the polling location regarding “individuals with guns near the election office.”

The officer then met up with Robbie Thurston, a volunteer with the Pinellas County Republican Party, who told him that he had set up a table near the polling location to provide information to the public. Thurston then told the officer that his supervisor, Charlotte Smith, had hired two security licensed security officers to be with him “in case an incident should arrive.”

Smith is the executive director of the Pinellas County Republican Party. She denied that allegation, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.  

So does Todd Jennings, the chair of the Pinellas County Republican Party. In a statement texted to Spectrum Bay News 9, Jennings writes:

“At no time did any employee or volunteer of the Pinellas GOP direct any security officer to be present at a polling location. The volunteer who allegedly made the statement to the St. Pete Police Department reported to various news sources the next day that it was all his misunderstanding.”

Jennings also attached a copy of a Washington Post story from October 22 that quoted Thurston as saying that it “was a misunderstanding.”

The two security guards named in the police report are Mackenzy Dessources and Patricia Garcon, both employed by Syotos Security, based in Crestview Florida. The police report says that Dessources also told the police that he and Garcon were hired by Smith, and “were instructed to be at the Election Office everyday from 1600-1800 hrs until the election is over.”

On the day after the incident, St. Petersburg resident Melody Stang told Spectrum Bay News 9 the female security guard (now known to be Garcon) did some work for the Pinellas County Republican Party but was just coming by the polling location to drop off some Trump campaign signs. 

The morning after the incident, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri told reporters that based on everything he knew about the situation, the armed guards had done nothing wrong.

“What violates the law is that if you have a firearm in a polling place,” he said at the time. “They’re not in a polling place, they’re outside the 150 feet. They are licensed – and this is not violating the Open Carry statutes. Because they are licensed security guards in Florida that have a class D and a class G license, which authorizes them to carry firearms and carry firearms openly. And they’re mere presence does not constitute voter coercion or intimidation.”

When contacted by Spectrum Bay News 9 today, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office issued this statement:

“The Sheriff stands by his statement made at the media availability (October 22, 2020) because it was current and accurate as he knew it at the time. There remains a discrepancy between what is reported in the SPPD report, what the security guards state, and what Charlotte Smith states. Charlotte Smith states to this day that she did not hire any security guards for the St. Pete site, regardless of what is contained in the SPPD report, and we cannot reconcile the discrepancy. We also cannot reconcile the discrepancy between what is in the SPPD report and the security guards’ statements.  We will have no further comment on this and we refer you to the Pinellas Republican Party or SPPD for any further statement.”

Trei McMullen is with Syotos, the security firm that employs both security officers named in the police report.  He has not returned a call for comment today. But he did send Spectrum Bay News 9 a statement the day after the incident denying that his employees were involved in poll watching.

“We do not have any employees engaging in poll watching. We had an off duty employee who was picking up a family member who happened to be in the vicinity of a polling location. The employee saw someone they knew near the polling location and had a short conversation. Again, this employee was off duty and was in no way engaging in poll watching. The employee was stopped by a local deputy that had every right to ask what was happening. The employee made it clear that they were not affiliated with the polling both [sic]. A change of information from the officer to the deputy happened and all information came back valid and true. The officer just had on their gear from leaving work and that was taken out of context.”

The SPPD report also says that an elections poll worker told the officer that she had received four complaints from “various people” about the two armed security officers at the GOP tent. 

St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman said the day after the incident that it was definitely a form of voter intimidation. 

“There’s zero reason for anyone to be armed, openly armed out in front of a polling place. I can’t think of any justification for that,” he said.