Ring camera footage appears to show Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) rifling through a stranger’s mailbox while canvassing before Tuesday’s Republican primary.
The incident allegedly occurred in the late afternoon this past Sunday. The Ring footage obtained by TMZ appeared to show Fine ringing a doorbell in Florida’s 6th Congressional District and waiting on the porch before he lifted the lid on the mailbox and began sifting through envelopes inside. Representatives for Fine later confirmed that it was him in the video. Take a look:
Fine is not reported to have removed, tampered with, or inserted anything in the mailbox. As noted by the Washington Times, the framing on federal law is a bit murky:
Under 18 U.S.C. § 1702, taking mail from an authorized depository before delivery with intent to obstruct correspondence or “pry into the business or secrets of another,” or opening or secreting such mail, is a federal crime. A separate statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1708, criminalizes stealing or taking mail from a letter box or mail receptacle. Whether either statute would apply here would turn on facts the video alone doesn’t establish, including Mr. Fine’s intent, whether he took or opened anything, and whether the mail had already been delivered.
Despite the video’s revelation on Tuesday, Randy Fine went on to win his primary, earning 56.6 percent of the vote (44,000) versus Dan Bilzerian with just 18.5 percent.
