In another desperate stunt to save his campaign, Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Republican candidate for Senate in Pennsylvania hired actors to play the roles of convicted felons supporting his Democratic opponent Lt. Governor John Fetterman.
Images shared to social media showed the actors in orange jumpsuits holding signs that read “Inmates for Fetterman” and “Another convicted felon for Fetterman.”
One of the men in the photo is Colin Matthews who took to social media to discuss dressing as a convicted felon, according to Newsweek.
“Last night might’ve been the greatest things I’ve ever done in politics yet. I was hired by the Oz campaign to play the role of a felon supporting Fetterman,” Matthews wrote. “I can’t believe how many idiots thought I was legit out of jail.”
This stunt comes as Oz is trying to portray Fetterman as being soft on crime and wanting to “eliminate life sentences for murderers.”
Fact checkers say that claim from Oz is not true. Fetterman is opposed to mandatory life sentences for those convicted of second-degree murder.
Last week, Dr. Oz also accused Fetterman of hiring two ‘convicted murderers‘ to work on his campaign, but there’s more to the story.
Oz was referring to the story of Lee and Dennis Horton. Both men now work as organizers for Fetterman’s campaign.
On Memorial Day weekend in 1993, the brothers went to buy beer and ended up picking up their childhood friend. They were unaware that the man they had in their car had just robbed and murdered a man and was being chased by police.
When they were pulled over, cops not only arrested their childhood friend but the Horton brothers also. The brothers were convicted of second-degree murder and given an automatic life sentence.
In 2020, the state pardon board, headed by Fetterman as lieutenant governor, recommended commuting their sentences, and they were freed in 2021.
“This smear is a sad and desperate attack from Dr. Oz’s shambolic campaign,” Fetterman said in a statement after Oz attacked his staffers. “Going after two campaign staffers is a new low for Dr. Oz. Dennis and Lee, who were wrongfully convicted, are two of the kindest, hardest-working people I know—fighting for their release was one of the proudest moments of my career and I’m honored to have them on this team.”
He continued: “Does Dr. Oz believe that the wrongfully convicted should die in prison? Does this man have any compassion? He’s making a predictable and fear-mongering attack against two men who spent 27 years in prison for a crime they didn’t commit.”
