Ex-judge threatens to burn polling center down, return with a gun, New York cops say
A former judge threatened to burn an upstate New York polling center down on Election Day when his status as a convicted felon stopped him from voting, state authorities said.
Paul M. Lamson, 69, tried to cast a ballot at the Town of Fowler Offices the morning of Nov. 5, according to New York State Police. Fowler is about a 110-mile drive northeast from Syracuse.
However, Lamson never re-registered as a voter after his release from prison, state police said in a Nov. 5 news release.
Lamson, who used to work as Fowler’s judge, was accused of soliciting sexual bribes from defendants in criminal cases he oversaw, WWNY-TV reported. In 2017, he pleaded guilty in connection with the misconduct and was sentenced to two to six years in prison, according to the TV station.
He was released on parole in 2019, the Times Union reported.
He “became irate” when he was rejected from the polling center and threatened to set it ablaze and to return with a gun, New York State Police said. Then, he fled, according to police, who said officers arrived at the polling center around 6:37 a.m. in response to Lamson’s threats.
Information regarding his legal representation wasn’t immediately available.
Now Lamson, of Gouverneur, has been arrested on a charge of making a terroristic threat, according to authorities.
He appeared in court for an arraignment and was ordered detained in the St. Lawrence County Jail on a $25,000 cash bail, police said.
People convicted of felonies can vote in New York after 2021 law
Though Lamson hadn’t re-registered to vote, he was offered an “affidavit ballot” but didn’t accept it, St. Lawrence County Board of Election officials told WWNY-TV.
In New York, affidavit ballots are counted after they are verified by a local election board.
Convicted felons are allowed to vote in elections due to a state law that was passed in 2021, according to the New York State Board of Elections.
The law restored voting privileges to convicted felons if they’ve been released from prison or aren’t incarcerated in New York.
Former president Donald Trump, who’s been convicted of 34 felony counts in New York, was allowed to vote in the 2024 presidential election in Palm Beach County, Florida, because of New York’s law, CBS News reported.
In Florida, when people convicted of felonies in another state go to vote, they’re bound by that state’s laws on voting rights for convicted felons, CBS News reported.
According to New York State Police, the investigation into Lamson is ongoing.
Trump has since won the election, according to The Associated Press and other news outlets.
This story was originally published November 6, 2024 at 7:26 AM with the headline "Ex-judge threatens to burn polling center down, return with a gun, New York cops say."
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