Accused of stealing campaign signs, Delaware lawmaker's husband turns himself in

MIDDLETOWN, Del. -- The husband of a Delaware state senator has turned himself into police, after rival campaign workers said they caught the man on camera stealing their campaign signs.

54-year-old Dana Armon Long turned himself in to Middletown Police at 7:00 a.m. Thursday. He was released on $250 unsecured bail.

Long is the husband of Democratic state senator Bethany Hall-Long.

He is accused by Republican campaign workers of stealing their candidate's signs. The workers have turned over to police video of them confronting Long about the alleged thefts.

The workers say they placed signs in the area of Delaware 299 near the Route 1 intersection 3 times, and the signs were stolen each time.

So they decided to stake out the area.

Police say at 4:00 a.m. Wednesday the Republican workers confronted a man removing their newly placed signs.

Authorities have identified the man as Long.

An arrest warrant was issued. When Action News went to Long's home, he had little to say.

"Under the advice of counsel, I can't make any comments at this time," he said.

John Fluharty, the head of the Republican party in Delaware, was outraged.

"It absolutely shouldn't happen in a campaign, especially when you are talking about a sitting elected official. She knows the campaign law, she's run for office before. This absolutely should not have happen. She owes the voters of Delaware an apology," said Fluharty.

State Senator Hall-Long issued the following statement regarding the incident:

My husband is the man depicted in the video. The video shows him removing a handful of signs this morning. He turned them over to the Democratic Party and asked that they be returned to the Republican Party about six hours after they were taken up. Sadly, this race has become tough and personal. My husband is my high school sweetheart and he loves me very much. I was not aware that he had allowed his frustration over the campaign attacks to get the better of him. Of course I'm disappointed and wish that it had not happened. The Republican Party is threatening legal action, and so I will withhold further comment on the incident. I will continue to focus my energy on the challenges that confront my district, and the State of Delaware.