A nearly 30-year-old photo of a Democratic congressional candidate holding a gun to someone's head has surfaced just before the midterm elections. George Scott, who is running against incumbent Scott Perry (R), was a captain in the United States Army when the picture was taken, Penn Live reported.
The picture was said to be celebratory. The Army had just finished completing Operation Just Cause, a mission carried out between 1989 and 1990, where the U.S. Military was tasked with ousting Panama dictator Manuel Noreiga.
Here's a photo of George Scott, who's running in PA-10. Apparently this is "funny" to him. pic.twitter.com/rCr9vvO1D0
— Beth Baumann (@eb454) November 6, 2018
Scott owned up to the photo.
"This photo from 29 years ago, with an unloaded weapon, was taken with fellow service members to symbolize the arrest of Dictator Manuel Noriega, a man responsible for the killing of a U.S. Marine, threatening U.S. citizens, and flooding our streets with narcotics," he said in a statement. "I was proud to serve my country in Operation Just Cause and throughout my 20 years on active duty. I look forward to getting back to the issues that matter to the people of the 10th District."
The "captive" in the photo, Yancy Stermer, said the picture is being taken out of context.
We were making a videotape that was going to go our families back at Fort Bragg, to let them know how we were doing," Stermer said. "It was actually a light-hearted time, and I can remember everybody was in good spirits."
According to Penn Live, the photo began making its way around social media on Friday night.