HOLLY SPRINGS, Miss. — A candidate and a rival campaign supporter got into a fist fight outside a Holly Springs polling place on Election Day, and the city’s police chief says they are investigating.
Cell phone video of the attack captured by Antwan Lester shows the moment fists started flying shortly after polls opened Tuesday.
It starts with words being exchanged between Sheri Ann McClatchy, who is the incumbent for District 1 Election Commision, and a woman identified as Pearlie Howell, who was campaigning for McClatchy’s opponent Jamarr “Jack” Walton.
Soon things become physical as the women fall to the ground in an all-out brawl. McClatchy runs off and calls police. Even after the women are separated, both can be heard exchanging insults and threats at a distance.
Holly Springs Police Chief Dwight Harris said they are still sorting things out.
“When the officers got there, they did come in contact with the caller who had obvious bruises to her face,” Harris said.
The chief said this has become a black eye to those who only want to fulfill their civic duty.
“Definitely avoid the drama, and the disturbances because it’s been an unprecedented day in Holly Springs so far,” Harris said. “Turnout has been tremendous.”
Charges are pending.
McClatchy lost the race to Walton, according to results from Tuesday night’s election.
See Mississippi election results here
“I know the video was going viral, but that didn’t stop and deter me from the task and the goal I had in mind. I still had an election to run,” Walton said Wednesday.
He said he’s still trying to sort out what started the fight.
“Unfortunately in pressure situations, we make ill-advised decisions sometimes, and it was a isolated incident and the proper authorities were contacted and came out and investigated and de-escalated the situation,” he said.
This is not the first time McClatchy has been caught on video in a physical altercation.
In 2019, WREG interviewed her after she claimed she was assaulted at a Holly Springs laundromat where she was working.
We reached out to her to get her side of this story, but were told it might be a few days before she agreed to an interview.