On Wednesday, Fox News jumped into Alabama's second congressional district race by pointing out that one of the leaders for the Democratic nomination had contradicted the police's version of his 1999 arrest after a prostitution sting.
Per a report by Fox News, Alabama House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels (D-Huntsville) was arrested and convicted during a prostitution sting in Florida, but his version of what happened doesn't line up with the police's story.
Daniels penned a 2009 book, "To Sweeten Alabama: A Story of a Young Man Defying the Odds," and described the arrest of him and his cousin on December 30, 1999.
According to the Haines City Police Department in Polk County, Fla., Daniels, then 17, and his cousin drove up to a woman who was posing as a prostitute and spoke with her about having intercourse.
"As she approached the car on the passenger side, the driver then asked her how much for sex. She advised that it's $20.00 for sex and $10.00 for head [oral sex]. The driver then said he wanted sex and the passenger said that he wanted head," an officer wrote in the affidavit obtained by Fox News.
After speaking, the two men were approached by police and taken into custody on the spot. Daniels was arrested, while the cousin was set free due to a miscommunication between the officers but later arrested, per the report.
Fox News notes Daniels' story in his book differs, with the North Alabama lawmaker claiming the woman had been trying to flag him down multiple times while he was walking to and from the gym while visiting Florida.
In Daniels' book, Fox News points out, the 17-year-old Daniels remembered feeling "uneasy" about the woman, who had become fixated on his cousin, in their encounter before police eventually pulled up.
Fox News wrote of the arrest from Daniels' point of view as follows:
Daniels wrote he was later approached by an officer and told to step out of the vehicle with his hands up before being searched and placed into the back of a police car.
Daniels alleged in the book that he overheard officers "mention that my cousin had made a lewd comment by asking, ‘How much is it for some head?’"
"To this day I don't recall such a comment. I highly doubt my cousin would have seriously asked that, especially since neither one of us had any money," he wrote.
Daniels did not address in his book the police officers' assertion that he had said he wanted sex from the undercover cop.
Daniels noted in the book that officers eventually picked up his cousin. They were both taken to a holding cell for two hours and later released.
According to Daniels, his own mother didn't believe his version of the story.
"I was innocent!" he wrote.
Daniels and his cousin entered a plea of no contest and were found guilty in 2000. Both Daniels and his cousin pleaded no contest to charges of misdemeanor "prostitution/lewd: involving the use of a motor vehicle," and each paid a $180 fine, according to Fox News.
Daniels still maintains his innocence, telling Fox News in a statement, "My recollection of the events from that day are clear. I never solicited sex. I was a teenager in the wrong place at the wrong time and any report that suggests otherwise is false. I've spoken about this incident many times over the years – including in my book written 15 years ago – to encourage young people to be mindful of their surroundings and the company they keep because when you don't the consequences can be far greater than what I experienced."
He also took a shot at his opponents for trying "to score cheap political points" for "misrepresenting an incident" from his childhood.
"It's a shame my opponents are misrepresenting an incident from my childhood in an attempt to score cheap political points," Daniels told Fox News. "Alabama deserves better."
"From eliminating the state income tax on overtime pay so working families keep more of their hard earned money to ensuring Mobile got its fair share to recover from the BP oil spill, I've always stood up for Alabama," he continued. "These attacks cannot diminish the fact that I am the best prepared candidate to serve this community in Congress."
Daniels, a former educator, is in a crowded field of 11 Democrats vying for the Democratic nomination in the newly drawn second congressional district.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email trent.baker@1819news.com.
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