A U.S. Postal Service employee has been federally indicted months after Scott Ortis campaign mailers were discovered dumped in a Greystone pond during the Republican primary for Alabama Senate District 15.
A federal grand jury indicted Sekondi Watts, 43, of Center Point, on one count of destruction of mail by a U.S. Postal employee, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama announced Thursday.
Federal prosecutors said Watts allegedly destroyed a batch of campaign mailers for a candidate running for state Senate in Shelby County in April.
The charge comes months after mailers supporting Ortis’s campaign against then-State Sen. Dan Roberts were found discarded in a pond in the Greystone area, which sits within Senate District 15.
Yellowhammer News reported in May that the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General was investigating the incident after the campaign materials were discovered. At the time, Ortis said he was optimistic investigators would identify whoever was responsible.
“I am appreciative of the work the federal investigators and prosecutors have done to get to this point. While the legal process needs to play out, any effort to interfere with any election must be taken seriously,” Ortis told Yellowhammer News following this week’s indictment.
“Voters deserve confidence in our election process, and anyone who undermines the democratic process should be held accountable.”
U.S. Attorney Phil Williams similarly pointed to election integrity in announcing the charge.
“This indictment reflects our commitment to protecting the integrity of our elections and the U.S. Mail, and we stand ready to prosecute anyone who interferes with fair and honest elections,” Williams said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney and Election Crimes Coordinator Brett A. Janich said the office is on “high alert” ahead of Election Day and committed to investigating election-related crimes.
The Postal Service Office of Inspector General investigated the case, and Janich is prosecuting it.
Watts is scheduled to be arraigned Oct. 8 in Birmingham.
Ortis went on to defeat Roberts in the May 19 Republican primary for Senate District 15.
Federal prosecutors emphasized that an indictment is an allegation and that Watts is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Sawyer Knowles is a state and political reporter for Yellowhammer News. You may contact him at [email protected].
