Police escort lawmaker from UT game over mask

KNOXVILLE — State Rep. Stacey Campfield was escorted from a University of Tennessee football game after a dispute with police over a Halloween mask.

The Knoxville News Sentinel cited a police report that stated the Knoxville Republican was wearing a "Luchador's (Mexican wrestler's) full head mask" during the Oct. 31 game against South Carolina despite publicity that Halloween masks were not allowed inside Neyland Stadium.

A mother and her two daughters became "upset because a man was sitting in their section (Section B) with a mask on," according to the report by UT Police Lt. Dana McReynolds.

Campfield removed the mask when confronted by police. But instead of going back to his seat, he went a different direction. When an officer asked him why, Campfield reportedly became defensive and began acting strangely.

"I began to tell him that I was not asking him to leave the section, just to take off his mask," McReynolds wrote. "Again he interrupted and said, 'I was just taking a walk. Is it illegal to walk around?' I told him 'no,' and was surprised by his sudden confrontational attitude. He again asked if walking around was illegal. Thinking that something was not right ... I asked to see his ticket."

When Campfield gave the officer his ticket, it was for Section LL, not Section B. McReynolds and another officer eventually escorted him from the stadium.

"He had violated the mask policy, was in the wrong section and was being argumentative and uncooperative," McReynolds wrote.

Campfield is not named in the narrative, but his identity was later learned by McReynolds through a driver's license check. Campfield's identity was confirmed Monday by UT spokeswoman Karen Collins.

Campfield, who is running for the District 7 state Senate seat being vacated by Tim Burchett, did not immediately return a message left by The Associated Press on Tuesday.

This is not first time Campfield has made headlines for his behavior outside the Legislature. A Democrat who narrowly lost an election last year sued Campfield for falsely writing on his blog a few weeks before the vote that the man had been arrested several times on drug charges.

Then, a house four college students were renting from Campfield drew attention after it was condemned for having 47 code violations. He blamed the media for reports of his battles with tenants.

Campfield's radical legislation also has drawn attention, such as one proposal that would require a death certificate be issued for each abortion performed in Tennessee.