Turns out, North Carolina official who poisoned his granddaughters’ ice cream was a diehard follower of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

James Edwin Yokeley Jr., a state appointed elections official in North Carolina, has resigned from his position following his arrest on accusations of a disturbing crime. The 66-year-old, who served as the chairman of the Surry County Board of Elections, is facing charges related to spiking his granddaughters’ ice cream with illicit narcotics. The official submitted a letter of resignation from his post.

In his letter, Yokeley stated, “This decision has not been made lightly. After much prayer, thoughtful reflection and consultation, I have concluded that it’s in the best interest of the State Board of Elections, regarding my own falsely accused circumstances, to step down at this time.”

Yokeley said, “Based on the truth and facts, I remain prayerfully confident that I will be exonerated of all accusations leveled against me.” According to NBC News, the incident that led to his arrest occurred on August 8. Yokeley had approached a police officer at a Sheetz gas station to report that his two juvenile granddaughters had discovered two hard objects in their ice cream.

Board of elections chairman tried to drug his granddaughters

The girls had recently purchased the ice cream from a Dairy Queen located approximately four miles away. According to the police statement, the girls did not consume the pills. Subsequent testing by law enforcement confirmed the pills were illegal narcotics. Authorities later reviewed video footage from the Dairy Queen. The video showed that it was Yokeley himself who had placed the two pills into both of the victims’ ice creams.

Following the discovery, Yokeley was booked on suspicion of contaminating food with a controlled substance and felony child abuse. The official was appointed to the Surry County elections board by State Auditor Dave Boliek in June of the previous year.

State Auditor Dave Boliek chimed in on the situation, saying, “As I had called for, the Chair of the Surry County Board of Elections has resigned. With his resignation, the Surry County Board and State Board can now, without distraction, move forward with the process of appointing a replacement.”

Yokeley also has a history of political aspirations. He had previously campaigned for a seat on the Surry County Board of Education. In that race, he was a relatively competitive third-place finisher in the 2022 Republican primary for the District 4 seat, garnering 26.69% of the vote.

Throughout his campaign for the school board, Yokeley focused on grievances related to national COVID policies and the integrity of the 2020 federal elections. The winner of that race, T.J. Bledsoe, expressed confusion over Yokeley’s emphasis on national issues during a local campaign. After his unsuccessful bid for the school board position, Yokeley continued to use his campaign’s social media accounts. He used the platforms to advocate for anti-vaccine stances and to voice his opinions on vaccination.

He als seemed to be a huge fan of RFK Jr., citing the Children’s Health Defense, a non-profit organization associated with anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In his post, Yokeley claimed a “wave of justice is swelling against employers” that mandated vaccination against COVID-19. A subsequent posting on December 7, 2022, saw Yokeley making unverified claims that both “big pharma” and the federal government were being dishonest about COVID-19 vaccines.