Local

Banned man who returned to Charlotte polling site after leaving jail arrested again

CHARLOTTE — Police said Tuesday that they have arrested a 36-year-old man who was wanted for trespassing at a polling site he was banned from in University City on Election Day.

According to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police, that man, Justin Dunn, had already been arrested for ignoring the ban and then returned to the site later in the evening after he had been released from jail.

Police said Dunn voted on Election Day at the precinct on Doug Mayes Place. After voting, officers said Dunn, who was legally carrying an unconcealed firearm, continued to loiter in the parking lot at the voting site.

Someone called CMPD just after 10:30 a.m. because they said Dunn was possibly intimidating voters. Officers said they watched an official at the precinct ask Dunn to leave, which he did.

Dunn was also banned from returning to the polling site by the precinct official.

About two hours later, CMPD was called to the site once again because they said Dunn returned to the property. Dunn was then arrested and charged with second-degree trespassing.

A viewer sent Channel 9 video of Dunn being arrested. Channel 9 did some digging and found that Dunn is registered as a Democrat and as a Black man. Election officials said they questioned Dunn about that discrepancy and he allegedly told them that he “wanted to test the system to see how he would be treated.”

Officials said they do not suspect voter fraud since Dunn’s other information matched.

Police said that after bonding out of jail on Election Day, Dunn again returned to the polling site around 6 p.m.

Dunn left before officers arrived, but police spoke with a witness and ended up taking out another warrant for second-degree trespassing.

On Tuesday morning, police found Dunn and took him into custody.