An unattributed robocall that went out to Anne Arundel County voters in the days leading up to this fall's elections -- disingenuously urging them to call and thank the mother of a gay County Council candidate for her son's support of transgender legal protections -- remains under investigation by the state prosecutor's office, according to the candidate.
The prosecutor's office has a policy not to confirm or deny investigations, but Patrick Armstrong -- who lost his bid to now sitting District 5 Councilman Michael Peroutka -- said one is underway, and for good reason.
Armstrong said early voting, which occurred before the illegal robocall, showed him ahead in the race, and he believes the robocall affected voting on election day.
"There is no doubt I lost many votes as a result of this illegal call that confused many voters," Armstrong said in a recent email, calling the recording "an illegal contribution to the Peroutka campaign" that "failed to honestly declare who funded it."
Armstrong said the call "spread fear" about his personal life and was "an ugly smear against transgender people," and he wants those responsible for it to be held accountable.
"I am hopeful that we will have an answer as to who ultimately is responsible for the call before the year's end," he said. "Election tampering and voter fraud are important issues and the people of Millersville, Severna Park and Broadneck want to feel comfortable knowing that our elections are conducted in a fair way."
The robocall urged those who received it to call Armstrong's mother to thank him for his coming out as gay and for supporting the Fairness for All Marylanders Act, which banned discrimination against transgender Marylanders in employment and other public accommodations. The recording said the law allows transgender people to go into any bathroom of their choosing "based on their confused gender identity."
In the past, Peroutka has referred to homosexuality as a "deathstyle" that "does not reproduce, so it's got to recruit your children," and he opposed the transgender discrimination ban. He has denied knowledge of the robocall, which lacked a legally required statement about who authorized it, but his past statements have raised suspicions among LGBT advocates that his supporters were behind it.
Armstrong's mother received multiple calls, most of them negative, from people who had received the robocall, which listed her home number, Armstrong said. In response, his campaign -- and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocacy organizations in the state -- cried foul.
Armstrong's campaign manager, Susan O'Brien, complained about the robocall directly to the state Board of Elections, which said it referred the matter to the state prosecutor's office.
O'Brien said she was contacted directly by the state prosecutor's office about the robocall. She then supplied Daniel Bralove, an investigator in the state prosecutor's office, a taped recording of the robocall, connected him with a resident who had received it, and told him that the number associated with the robocall had dialed her cell phone twice the day before the election. One of those calls went to her voicemail, she said in an email, "and you can hear human like activity -- like shuffling papers -- in the background but no voices."
O'Brien said Armstrong gave Bralove access to his mother's answering machine as well.
"To my knowledge the investigation into the call is still ongoing," Armstrong said, noting that past investigations into illegal robocalls in the state have taken months to complete.
Bralove, contacted by phone, declined to comment, reiterating his office's policy of not confirming or denying investigations.
Peter Waldron, a spokesman for Peroutka, said Peroutka's policy is "not to comment on an ongoing investigation."
Armstrong and O'Brien, who were asked by The Baltimore Sun whether they had been contacted by the state prosecutor's office, said they want the investigation made public to ensure results.
O'Brien said she was told the phone used to conduct the robocall was a pay-as-you-go mobile phone purchased in Laurel, and hopes it's owner will be tracked down.
"It's bordering on absurd that in this day and age with the technologies that can be found just down the road at NSA and joint cyber command that such a hateful crime cannot be solved," she said. "Someone must be held accountable for this crime."
Armstrong said he is glad his parents are no longer receiving angry phone calls, but is still awaiting justice in the matter.
"The ensuing hate-filled phone calls to my mother and father have stopped, but every day tens of thousands of Americans live in fear and intimidation because of the lies these people spread," he said. "It is important that prosecutors continue to do their work and I look forward to a final resolution with criminal charges against all those involved."