Montgomery County court and registrar office records reveal additional details about the election fraud charges served Wednesday on Blacksburg Town Councilman Liam Watson.
Watson
Watson, 24, was directly indicted by a grand jury Tuesday, according to court documents, on four felony charges: three counts of election fraud and one count of illegally voting in an election.
Court and jail records indicate that after he turned himself in to Wednesday afternoon, Watson鈥檚 arrest was processed at the . He signed a document promising to appear in Circuit Court for a hearing scheduled at 9 a.m. Aug. 7, and then he was released from the jail on an unsecured $5,000 bond.
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Watson鈥檚 bail records indicate that he has been employed as a member for about seven months and receives a $10,000 annual salary. He has also been employed for about six months at , where he receives a $60,000 annual salary. The agency 鈥渂uilds robust digital programs for Democratic leaders,鈥 .
Watson was elected as a write-in candidate to the town council last November.
The first of Watson鈥檚 election fraud charges is related specifically to his Virginia voter registration application. His indictment alleges that on Aug. 7, he made 鈥渁 false material statement or entry in a statement鈥 on the form, which is not a public document.
Watson
Watson鈥檚 second election fraud charge is related to a statement of organization candidate committee, or SOCC, form that he filled out Aug. 28. In the document, which is publicly available , Watson reported that his residential address was in the 500 block of Milhurst Street in Blacksburg.
Registrar records show that on Dec. 31, Watson鈥檚 SOCC form was amended to include a residential address in the 800 block of Progress Street Northeast.
Watson鈥檚 third election fraud charge is related to a declaration of candidacy, or DC, form that he filled out Nov. 16, . He reported in that document, which his indictment alleges also contains a false statement, that his mailing address was in the 900 block of University City Boulevard.
But three months prior on Aug. 28, according to registrar records, he had filled out a DC form and listed the Milhurst address as his mailing address.
Watson鈥檚 last indictment, related to the illegally voting charge, alleges that between Aug. 7 and Nov. 7, he 鈥渧oted in an election that he was not qualified to vote where and when the vote was given.鈥
Montgomery County Registrar Connie Viar declined to comment Thursday on Watson鈥檚 charges.
