Crime & Safety
RNC delegate arrested at polling place sues Pennsylvania county
Legal Newsline – A Pennsylvania woman and Republican National Convention delegate is suing Delaware County and law enforcement officers after she was…
By John O’Brien | Legal Newsline · 2026-09-22T19:35:07.777Z
Legal Newsline – A Pennsylvania woman and Republican National Convention delegate is suing Delaware County and law enforcement officers after she was removed from a polling place in 2024.
Vallerie Biancaniello filed her lawsuit Sept. 18 in the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas, nearly two years after her arrest during early voting made waves, including a post on X https://x.com/WhatleyNC/status/1851036150472831081 from then RNC chairman Michael Whatley that included video.
Biancaniello says she was simply encouraging voters to stay in line https://delawarevalleyjournal.com/rnc trump delegate arrested in delco for encouraging voters to stay in line/ despite warnings from election staff that the wait could be two hours long and not engaging in any support for President Donald Trump. Eventually though, a voter accused her of electioneering, drawing the attention of police.
She says an unknown officer and Officer Christine McCullough “subjectively did not like and/or did not approve of Plaintiff’s presence and/or the content of her speech” at the Government Center in Media.
Sergeant Jerry Rhome arrested her in front of voters, and Biancaniello was charged with disorderly conduct.
“Multiple security videos… show that at all time material and relevant to the allegations in this complaint, the scene in the lobby area was peaceful and non disruptive, until such time as Defendants… publicly arrested Plaintiff,” the suit says.
The incident generated media coverage https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/woman arrested at pa voting center rnc chair alleges voter suppression/4012762/ thanks to allegations of voter suppression by Whatley. Biancaniello says she was subjected to public “vilification” on social media posts accusing her of electioneering.
The disorderly conduct charge was ultimately dropped, and now she is alleging her civil rights were violated. The lawsuit makes free speech, unlawful search and seizure and false imprisonment claims.
It also says the county failed to adequately train and supervise police officers regarding the First Amendment and the disorderly conduct statute. Biancaniello is represented by Michael Davey of Eckell Sparks in Media.
“The public nature of the arrest subjected Plaintiff to stigma and humiliation that cannot be undone,” the suit says.
This report was produced by Legal Newsline and distributed by The Center Square as part of a content sharing agreement. Reach editor John O’Brien at john.obrien@therecordinc.com.
This story originally appeared on thecentersquare.com https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/article 091173ca bfc5 5c91 97cb 10970b8d6bdf.html .