The Democratic candidate for Arkansas state auditor was arrested Friday morning on a felony warrant, jail records show.
Diamond Arnold-Johnson, 32, appeared Friday afternoon in the Pulaski County jail’s online inmate roster. Little Rock Police Department spokesman Mark Edwards was not immediately able to provide the incident report covering her arrest, nor was he able to give any details about the arrest, including the time or location.
A felony conviction would bar Arnold-Johnson from running from office, per the Arkansas Code, but it was not clear what would happen if she is elected in November and then convicted of a felony.
A Facebook Live video shared by Arnold-Johnson on Friday morning showed her speaking with Little Rock officers through a closed door before eventually surrendering and being handcuffed.
Arkansas state Treasurer Dennis Milligan of Benton, who is running for state auditor as a Republican, on Friday called for his Democratic opponent to withdraw from the race, calling her “unfit to hold the office.”
“Anyone who has an active felony warrant for their arrest should not be running for office or handling the state’s very important financial business,” Milligan wrote. “Rather, their time and energy would benefit more from focusing on their’s and their spouse’s legal morass.”
Milligan wrote that if Arnold-Johnson does not withdraw from the race, the Democratic Party of Arkansas should “repudiate and distance themselves” from her as a candidate.
The Democratic Party of Arkansas did just that in a statement released before Milligan’s on Friday.
“Everyone has the right to due process; however, our Party firmly believes people must be held accountable for any criminal behavior, especially candidates for public office,” the release states. “The Democratic Party of Arkansas did not recruit her to run for Auditor of State, and we cannot bar her from running for this position.”
Arnold-Johnson also faces Libertarian Simeon Snow, 37, of Rector in the race. In an interview Friday afternoon, Snow said he regrets what Arnold-Johnson’s family and friends are going through, and he argued that he is the most qualified candidate for state auditor.
Police on Oct. 13 went to Arnold-Johnson’s home and tried to serve her a warrant for felony first-degree terroristic threatening, according to a police incident report and another video shared by Arnold-Johnson on Facebook. However, she refused to leave her residence and was not arrested.
The Oct. 13 incident was first reported by Little Rock blogger Russ Racop.
Arnold-Johnson in a Thursday interview called the Oct. 13 attempt to serve the warrant “malicious prosecution and abuse of power by police.
“This is a form of harassment,” she added.