Voter Intimidation Concerns Over Man In Camo At Polling Site

CORAL GABLES, FL — Some voters expressed concern about possible voter intimidation after Carmen Sesin, a journalist with NBC News-Latino, tweeted a photograph of a man wearing camouflage, a black beret and a holster, and standing with his arms crossed at the Coral Gables Branch Library on Saturday.

The library, part of the Miami-Dade Public Library System, is “one of the busiest early voting sites” in the county, she tweeted. Check out the image, which was retweeted more than 1,200 times, at the Twitter link below.

Some on Twitter were concerned about the incident. User @mikerico77 tweeted, “As a member of Coral Gables I would like to know what the heck is going on here?" He added, "I don’t pay high taxes for this obvious voter intimidation.”

Meanwhile, @WorldsXbox tweeted, “That man should be arrested immediately for voter intimidation."

Others mocked the man. User @varyanka wrote, “All I see is a frightened cosplayer hugging himself to soothe his fears.”

In response to Sesin's tweet, user @MelissaFrey10 said, “High and tightly crossed arms are betraying how majorly uncomfortable and insecure he is. Definitely not a display of strength. Maybe someone could give him a hug? He looks like he needs it.”

Meanwhile, user @LAppiah tweeted, “Bless his heart. If that is what he thinks is the best use of his time- being dressed in fatigues in the hot Florida sun, so be it. Perhaps he'll stand as a reminder to voters to vote for real American values fought for by our military of liberty and justice for ALL.”

Billy Corben, director of “537 Votes” on HBO and a South Florida resident, brought Coral Gables Police Chief Ed Hudak into the Twitter conversation, asking him, “What’s this all about?”

But Hudak said there’s no reason for concern. He tweeted, “He was there to vote. He was not armed and was watching some candidates give speeches in front of the poll site. Our officers remain at the site which is festive but very orderly. All persons wishing to vote are doing so without obstruction!”

The Coral Gables Police Department has not responded to a request for comment. A Twitter response from the Miami Patch editor directed at Hudak also went unanswered.