Pastor arrested for allegedly forging signatures for Democratic primary

A 33-year-old pastor has been arrested for allegedly forging signatures in his bid to win the Democratic primary for a state House seat in 2024.

Rev. Robert Hoggard of Middletown, Connecticut, was reportedly an associate pastor at New Jerusalem Christian Center when he submitted signatures in support of his campaign for the 33rd House District.

'There's a political class that does everything in its power to try to dissuade voters from wanting to serve their communities and cancel this election.'

Connecticut allows non-endorsed candidates to get onto a primary ballot by collecting signatures from voters in the district.

Democratic Registrar of Voters Patricia Alston flagged the signatures as suspicious and began an investigation.

"The alarming evidence includes multiple voters who stated that they did not sign a primary petition for the candidacy of Robert Kyle Hoggard and that the signature listed on the documents turned into the registrar's office is fraudulent," Middletown Democratic Town Committee Chairman Mike Fallon said in June 2024.

Hoggard responded by accusing the Democratic Party of conspiring against him.

"Tactics like these dissuade people from wanting to run for office," he said at the time. "There's a political class that does everything in its power to try to dissuade voters from wanting to serve their communities and cancel this election. There's nothing this political class can do to dissuade me from wanting to run where I was born and raised."

Hoggard ran under the "We the People Party" in the general election and was absolutely crushed by incumbent state Rep. Brandon Chafee (D) by a vote of nearly 7,600 to less than 700.

Investigators with the Chief State's Attorney's office arrested Hoggard on Thursday and charged him with 14 counts of second-degree forgery and six counts of perjury. He was released on a written promise to reappear in court.

In response to a request for comment, Hoggard directed Blaze News to his attorney, John Kennelly, but Kennelly did not respond. New Jerusalem Christian Center also did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.

RELATED: Top Oklahoma Democrat forced to resign after trying to pay Ethics Commission with a forged check

The CT Insider reported other election shenanigans in the state, including hundreds of voters being assigned to the wrong district in 2022 and 2024, and another incident where ballot petitions went missing.

Hoggard was also required to sign the petition forms in front of a notary public, attest to the veracity of the signatures, and certify that each signature was made in his presence.

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