Ashley Todd, McCain Attack Scammer, Reaches Deal With Police

PITTSBURGH — A volunteer for John McCain's presidential campaign agreed Thursday to enter a probation program for first-time offenders for falsely reporting that a Barack Obama supporter robbed and assaulted her and scratched a "B" on her cheek.

Ashley Todd, 20, of College Station, Texas, claimed the attack happened when a robber saw her McCain bumper sticker. Todd appeared before a city judge and waived her right to a hearing and was to be released from jail later Thursday.

Under the agreement, her criminal record will be expunged after if she stays out of trouble and gets mental treatment on probation. Most people spend a year on probation in the program, which is for first-time, nonviolent offenders.

"Our focus was really, 'This is somebody who appeared to have some mental issues,'" said prosecutor Chris Avetta. "And we wanted to make sure she doesn't hurt herself or anybody else."

Todd's public defender, Emily McNally, declined to comment.

Todd initially told investigators she was attempting to use a bank ATM on Oct. 22 when a 6-foot-4 black man approached her from behind, put a knife to her throat and demanded money. She told police she handed the assailant $60 and walked away.

Todd, who is white, told investigators she suspected the man then noticed a McCain sticker on her car. She said the man punched her in the back of the head, knocked her to the ground and scratched a backward letter "B" into her face with a dull knife.

After admitting she made up the story, the woman told investigators she believed she cut the "B" onto her own cheek but didn't remember doing so, police said last week.

She was charged with a misdemeanor count of making a false police report and had been jailed since Oct. 24. She underwent a court-ordered psychiatric examination and was deemed to be competent to stand trial but in need of further counseling.

The charge Todd faced carries a maximum two-year jail sentence. Assistant Police Chief Maurita Bryant said Todd must abide by the conditions of her release or risk being prosecuted on the charge.

"I think what she needed mostly was counseling," Bryant said. "The only one she actually hurt was herself, although there could have been so many other ramifications based on her actions."

The case generated national media attention when a picture showing Todd with a black eye and the red "B" on her cheek was posted online.

Initial reports of the mugging prompted calls of support from McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, and his running mate, Sarah Palin. The College Republican National Committee at first criticized the attack, then fired and disowned Todd once the hoax was exposed.

Comments

[voter4life]

She wasn't finished. She left off the "oob"

[DasBoatless]

lol

[Marichu]

Carving the letter “B” on her check is self-mutilation. This young woman may have a type of borderline personality disorder. The high stress of the campaign with her preferred presidential candidate not doing well in the polls may have created an inability to think rationally leading to this act of rage. She needs therapeutic interventions.

[POTUS2008]

heck that is basically good description of McCains actions over the past 7 months, maybe he is having PTSD!

[Marichu]

POTUS2008 I don't think MC would go the route of self-mutilation. He may verbally chew you up to where your ears will blister or throw a punch, but I don't see him turning his rage inward. PTSD may be a factor to consider.

[sws3030]

She needs a spanking.

[4ethicalpolitics]

and that, my friends, is white privilege.

[lunchlady]

Dumb, nasty, cynical, sleazy. Whose campaign will she work on next?
Seems like a sweetheart of a deal. Plus she gets her 15+ minutes of fame. Hope she's not enjoying it.

[ChiGuy]

When this story first broke, there were links posted to her MySpace or Facebook page.
On it, she bragged about her love of s.e.x.

Seeing pictures of her, all I could think was, With who???

[bitabingbitabangbitaboom]

With herself...­..........­..........­....CHA!

[mooses4obama]

MySpace - She bragged that lying was the most fun a person could have.

Twitter - Bragged about lying to voters, and about bullying a cop.

Gee....Won­der why she shut her MySpace and Twitter down before calling the cops?

[Gifts]

You all sound like such Uniters, You really sound like your going to bring the Country together - NOT. What a strong message of hope the Obama supporters have - NOT. This is a pro Obama website right? Or is it a breaking news site? Seems you are always changing your top story, and the focus is always McCain is the biggest loser ever and Obama is the very best thing in the World for humanity,e­tc.. Why not talk policy on mental health and the justice system rather than trash Sarah Palin. It must be your total weakness and fear that Sarah Palin has the potential to screw your candidate out of the Presidency, he has already claimed as his own. The very sad fact is both parties really have no interest of "changing" anything. So bring down the tone of the trash talk and at least give the topic of the "crime and punishment" that this story was posted as covering a real debate. Regardless of what party you are from, do you think it is fair that this person after reporting a false report with a description, regardless of whether that person was black or white, should be allowed to sit on a psychiatric couch for a year paid for by us and then be released?

[ChiGuy]

New 'round these parts, eh?

Bye.

[RealityBaseCamp]

He sounds like a smart guy - not!

By the way, is "not!" after a sentence "not" the most grade-school excuse for wit that you've seen this week?

[JeffersonState]

No sympathy at all from me. She is getting off easy.

Imagine if she was a pretty blonde, and a little more believable­....

...it'd be a bad time to be a young black man in proximity to the "incident".

[waxboy]

WAYYYY to leinient of a decision.

This girl should be made an example of. This could have ignited a racial riot. It is ridiculous. She was going after the bigot vote. Couldn't even make up a white attacked her. Her lies could have cost Obama this election. Had the races been reversed would she get off with probation??? I'm so glad she was so obvious in her stupidity and the police were so professional in their evaluation of the situation.

Then again Palin/ McCain have been lying the past few weeks and they won't even get probation.

[dawlishgal]

PIttsburgh really ought to force Todd to reimbuse the city for the costs of the police work and the courts. That is what Madison WI did to the woman who pretended that she had been abducted. who ran up a huge bill for police investigations of her "disappear­ance." Pittsburgh is not a rich city, and why should they let a little creep who tried to foment racial unrest get away with trying to give the city ....errrrr­rr.....a black eye and then make the city pay for her mischief? If she can't afford to pay for her bad behavior, let her make license plates at minimum wage until it is paid for. Or, alternatively let Pittsburgh sue the College Republicans, who sent the little creep to Pittsburgh to create havoc.

A while back we had a graffiti vandal who did over a half-million dollars of damage to the property of others, both public and private, under the delusion that he is some kind of artist. I sincerely hope that the city forces him to reimburse the taxpayers too

[Ducandy]

I only read the first page an no one got this right:

The mistake in the story is that she was NOT a volunteer, she was paid staff.

There ya go.

[Alonzo]

Of course Todd has a mental condition - she volunteered for the McCain campaign, didn't she?

[Dadaba]

LOL!!! Says a whole lot about the McCain campaign staffers AND supporters!

[TheAlchemist]

It's a sad story, suggestive of a dissociative disorder.

[strandwolf]

Seems to be that way. What she did was reprehensible, and as noted here could have led to disaster, but she is a mental case and not responsible for her actions. Just as that woman who drowned her children down in Texas was suffering from post-partem depression--that called for the death penalty?

[Querent]

The story says she was found competent to stand trial. Therefore she is responsible for her actions. And the Susan Smith case, which I think is the one you are referring to in the last part of your comment was not about post-partum depression. Smith killed her children so she could be with her lover.

[indyleftist]

Maybe I'm the only one who thinks this and maybe its wrong but she has the look of someone who at least has a mild learning disability. Possibly even mild autism or something

I feel sorry for her more than anything and I hope she gets help not prison

[knowBuddhaU]

You're right, I think it's wrong. That goes for all the diagnosing going on.

Isn't this what the Republicans did to Terry Schiavo? I've heard of distance learning, but distance diagnosis?

C'mon, people, leave the kid alone. Yes, she should be charged, tried, make reparations, and all that. But how well does it speak of us, to kick her when she's down?

[JeffersonState]

Thank you for your input Dr. Frist

[SwingVoter]

What if she drew an 'O' instead of a 'B'? I don't think the "Book" should be thrown at her because I believe in second chances. Besides, her sins will follow her for a time.

[MsLiz]

She'll have credibility issues for the rest of her life. Maybe someday, she will really need to be believed, and no one will believe her.

[Querent]

Well, that certainly didn't happen to Bush, did it? 30% or so still believe him.

[JeffersonState]

""What if she drew an 'O' instead of a 'B'?""

She wouldn't have been thumbed as a complete fraud instantly.

Backward, forward... same-same.

[shaaronie]

There was still that ATM video and the story just sounds ridiculous. If she had omitted the r obbery and carved an O, her story may have been believed. However, to say that a man r obbed her and then c arved a B in her face as a political statement is quite laughable. I don't know many active r obbers (most aren't allowed to vote) who are into politics. Proof? Famous Rapper and c riminal DMX admitted just a few months ago, that he had never heard of Barack Obama and didn't even know an African American man was running.

[ThePublicRecord]

http://www.pubrecord.org/sarah-palin/442-alaska-rep-personnel-board-will-likely-find-palin-broke-ethics-laws.html

Alaska Rep.: Personnel Board Will Likely Find Palin Broke Ethics Laws

An investigation by Alaska’s personnel board into Gov. Sarah Palin’s decision to fire Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan in July will likely conclude that Palin violated state ethics laws, said a top Alaska Democratic lawmaker.