Did a Prop 1 Volunteer Get Shot While Gathering Signatures?

By Greg Pruett • November 19, 2024

Idahoans for Open Primaries is celebrating its crushing defeat by putting out a video in which they suggest that one of their volunteers got shot or threatened with a gun.

The nearly seven-minute video has a series of lies in it. But perhaps the strangest part was the suggestion that one of their volunteers got shot or had a gun pulled on them.

Here is the line the narrator uses when describing the volunteers who went door to door:

“Sometimes they were told to buzz off, or worse.”

When the narrator says, “or worse,” this image is displayed:

Gun owners are familiar with this particular sign, which is a joke. It does serve as a “No Trespassing” sign technically, but you cannot shoot someone simply because they are still alive or trespassing. Gun owners know that, but the sign is just a joke.

The narrator says that their volunteers were told to “buzz off” or “worse.” Did one of their volunteers get shot, survive, and then get shot again? Did one of their volunteers have a gun pulled on them?

The video seems to suggest that one of those two things happened. Or did the Prop 1 volunteer snap a picture of a sign that scared them and claim that they were the ones who were threatened?

The sign is not there for anyone in particular. The sign would apply to anyone who is trespassing.

However, in Idaho, you cannot simply shoot someone who comes onto your property unless you reasonably believe your life or the lives of others in your home or on your property are in danger. There is a lot that goes into a justifiable homicide.

Don’t like the Mormon missionaries, Jehovah’s Witnesses, or the pesticide sales guy coming onto your property? You cannot just shoot them. You will be charged and likely convicted of murder.

The same would apply to a Prop 1 volunteer going door to door. You may not like them coming onto your property. If they are trespassing, you can call the police, and they will be charged accordingly.

In Idaho, you cannot even pull out a gun on someone simply because they knocked on your door to sell you something, wanted to talk to you about religion, or tried to get you to sign a petition. You will be charged and end up in jail.

The rest of the video is not much better. It’s full of other lies and distortions about the reality of the shellacking their effort received after almost 70% of the state said they did not want Prop 1.

Perhaps Idahoans for Open Primaries can shed some light on this specific allegation, though, so we can discuss what happened. Otherwise, this video seems like nothing more than an attempt to drum up sympathy for one of the most devastating political defeats in Idaho history.

What do you think of the Idahoans for Open Primaries video? Did you even watch it? Let us know in the comments below.