California recall candidate alleges she was roughed up at Larry Elder church event

A Democratic candidate in the California recall election against Gov. Gavin Newsom alleges that Republican front runner Larry Elder’s security detail assaulted her and detained her against her will after she interrupted a speech Elder was giving at a Los Angeles area church on Sunday.

Jacqueline “Jackie” McGowan, a cannabis advocate and lobbyist who is one of 46 candidates seeking to replace Gov. Newsom in a recall election, told The Sacramento Bee in an interview that several security guards “attempted to bodyslam me because I challenged (Elder) to a debate.”

The next day, Monday, she filed a report with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, alleging battery.

McGowan provided The Bee with a photograph of a preliminary police report. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department did not respond to an inquiry by deadline.

After receiving a question about the incident from a Sacramento Bee reporter, Elder campaign spokeswoman Ying Ma took to Twitter to deny McGowan’s allegations.

“Last weekend, CA recall candidate Jacqueline McGowan interrupted a service at Lancaster Baptist Church at which (Larry Elder) spoke. She was removed by church security. At no time did Elder’s security detail come in contact with her. All allegations to the contrary are false,” she wrote.

Ma declined to comment further.

In a video clip provided by McGowan, and shared on her social media page, McGowan can be heard interrupting Elder, who was speaking as a guest of Lancaster Baptist Church.

“You’re not governor yet. Debate me. I’m on the ticket, too. McGowan for governor, get on the stage with me and debate me,” McGowan said in the video.

Elder can be seen to pause for a moment, but otherwise did not respond to McGowan’s challenge.

That was when security moved toward her, McGowan told The Bee.

“They tried to tackle me from behind because I was just challenging him to a debate,” she said.

McGowan said that she was taken to a back room and held against her will by security, and that she was not allowed to collect her belongings.

This story was originally published September 3, 2021 at 12:00 AM with the headline "California recall candidate alleges she was roughed up at Larry Elder church event."