RI Lt. Gov.'s campaign nomination-signature scandal still unfolding with woman's indictment

PROVIDENCE − Another person associated with Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos' campaign for Congress last year has been charged criminally with election-related offenses, including knowingly falsifying and submitting nomination papers, Attorney General Peter F. Neronha said Friday.

Holly McLaren faces two charges of falsely certifying nomination papers and two counts of filing false documents with a public official, according to a news release issued jointly by Neronha and Rhode Island State Police Col. Darnell S. Weaver.

The 52-year-old was the focus of an investigation by Neronha's office and state police, into allegations of fraudulent nomination signatures during the 2023 1st Congressional District Special Election.

McLaren's arraignment before Magistrate Gina Lopes on Friday morning in Superior Court followed McLaren's indictment on four felony charges, according to an online court record.

McLaren voluntarily appeared in in court, where the indictment was unsealed and she was arraigned, prosecutors say.

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McLaren is accused of knowingly falsifying nomination papers and taking action that led to their filing with canvassing boards in both Jamestown and Newport on behalf of Matos while she was a candidate in the election last year sometime between July 11 and 13, 2023.

McLaren is scheduled for a pre-trial conference on Aug. 8, 2024.

Diving in deeper: Matos directed public attention at McLaren last year

The indictment of McLaren adds another chapter to the voter-signature scandal that buffeted Matos' campaign last year.

Jamestown Canvassing Clerk Keith Ford had been the first official to put a spotlight on Matos' signatures.

The signatures included the names of at least three dead residents and others who were either not registered or were otherwise ineligible to vote in the town.

McLaren's name came up early.

Sixteen of the 17 signatures McLaren submitted in Jamestown were rejected.

Hundreds more signatures on Matos' nominating papers were eventually thrown out.

Matos, who blamed McLaren for the problems, still gathered enough signatures to qualify for the ballot. But her campaign faltered though and she lost her status as the presumed front-runner.

"Let's be clear," Matos said at the time. "My campaign is not under investigation; a vendor that my campaign hired is under investigation."

Matos added that "this individual disregarded the instructions of my campaign" and that she was a "victim unfortunately of someone we trusted."

The initial arrest

McLaren wasn't the first person charged in the case.

In April, Neronha's office charged Matos campaign worker Christopher Cotham with four counts.

At the time, Matos rallied behind prosecutors.

"It is vital that the people who demeaned Rhode Island’s democratic process are held accountable for their actions," she said in a statement.

"As I've said from day one, this is a serious crime that was perpetrated against Rhode Islanders' confidence in our state’s free and fair elections, and I am more invested than anyone in a thorough and public investigation."

Her reaction on Friday to McLaren's arrest was similar, saying in a statement that she was glad the investigation was "progressing."

"I will continue to support our justice system in any way I can to ensure the truth comes to light, as well as supporting reforms to the reporting structure to protect our democratic process," she said.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Holly McLaren accused of felony submission of nomination papers for Matos