‘This was not just a handshake.’ NC GOP says poll volunteer was assaulted by candidate.

A volunteer at an early-voting site in Pitt County says she was assaulted by the Democratic candidate for district attorney over the weekend, the state Republican Party reported Thursday.

The GOP said the candidate, Faris Dixon, grabbed the woman’s hand with a grip that left extensive bruising, and released photographs of a bruised hand. Party officials did not disclose the woman’s name, at her request, and said she reported the incident to police.

A Greenville Police Department report, classified as an assault-on-a-female investigation, shows that a woman named Julie Anne Dodson, 75, told police an encounter happened about 6 p.m. Saturday at the early-voting location.

A police spokeswoman said a detective will look into the allegations.

“At this point, further investigation is needed to determine what happened,” said Kristen Hunter.

A woman who answered the phone Thursday afternoon said Dodson was not available to talk and hung up.

Dixon could not be reached through phone calls to his office and his home Thursday afternoon. He also couldn’t be reached through his campaign email address or his law firm’s email address.

The GOP in a news release said the woman was bringing handouts to fellow Republican volunteers at the Alice F. Keene Center on County Home Road in the Eastern North Carolina town of Greenville when Dixon approached her and grabbed her hand.

Dixon pushed his thumb into her hand until it hurt, the GOP said, and she visited a doctor for an X-ray and photographs.

GOP Executive Director Dallas Woodhouse said in the release, “This was not just a handshake; this sounds like assault.”

“We look forward to the results from a thorough investigation by the Greenville Police Department,” Woodhouse said. “Violence against volunteers, especially from a man running to be a district attorney, cannot be tolerated, and Mr. Dixon should apologize immediately.”

Dixon is a former Pitt County assistant district attorney who is now in private practice. He is running against Republican candidate Glenn Perry of Grimesland for the district attorney position being vacated by Kimberly Robb, who is running against state Sen. Don Davis, a Democrat representing Pitt, Greene, Lenoir and Wayne counties.

In 2014, Dixon won the primary for a district court judge seat but lost in the general election. The same year, Robb fired Dixon and asked for the State Bureau of Investigation to look into whether Dixon had inappropriately dismissed cases while he was a prosecutor in her office, according to WITN-TV. He was eventually cleared.

Dixon’s political campaign reports about $770 cash on hand at the end of the first half of the year. Perry reports about $20,000 on hand, and $50,000 in outstanding loans.

This story was originally published October 25, 2018 at 4:42 PM with the headline "‘This was not just a handshake.’ NC GOP says poll volunteer was assaulted by candidate.."