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An Iowa councilwoman who used an attack ad to accuse a rival of being “dangerous” for kids once pleaded guilty to a child endangerment charge.
Shellie Flockhart, 55, ripped Democrat congressional candidate Sarah Trone Garriott’s voting record on trans issues in the ad released this month – before her own skeletons from nine years ago came to light.
“Sarah Trone Garriott voted to let grown men in girls’ bathrooms,” Flockhart, a Dallas City council member, said in the ad, which only used her first name.
“When it comes to our kids, Sarah Trone Garriott is just plain dangerous.”
Flockhart and other moms in the ad – created by the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC that tries to get Republicans elected to Congress – eviscerated Trone Garriott’s voting record during her tenure as an Iowa state senator.
In 2023, Trone Garriott previously voted against banning men from accessing women’s locker rooms, Iowa Republicans said in August. The previous year, she also voted against a law that would’ve banned biological men from playing in female sports.
The ad went viral before an Iowa liberal group unearthed details about Flockhart’s past — including her criminal record.
The Washington Post reported Sunday that Flockhart pleaded guilty to child endangerment as well as a charge of driving while intoxicated following a 2017 incident, citing court records.
She was found parked on the side of a highway before being busted on suspicion of drink driving while her two kids, then age 8 and 11, were in her car.
Cops responding to the scene said her speech was very slurred and she “appeared to have difficulty comprehending” questions, according to a police report.
Flockhart was found with a preliminary blood alcohol reading of 0.254 – three times the legal limit in the Hawkeye State.
A later test in jail came back with a reading of 0.192, according to court docs. Flockhart pleaded guilty and was ordered to pay a fine and put on probation.
Flockhart called it a “grave mistake” more than nine years ago, stressing it “doesn’t define” her.
She also accused her rival of “weaponizing” the conviction — labeling it a form of “spiritual abuse.”
“It was inexcusable, a profound failure in judgment that endangered those I love most and shattered the trust others placed in me,” she wrote in a statement entitled “My Past, God’s Grace: My Testimony.”
“I owned that mistake fully at the time, fulfilling all legal requirements and embracing the consequences,” she said, addressing what she called a “painful chapter.”
“Since then I’ve committed every day to sobriety, working a program that continues to guide my past.”
“As a follower of Jesus, I’ve learned the power of humility through that public and private shame – the gift of surrender that comes from recognizing we’re all sinners in need of grace.”
Nunn has also rushed to Flockhart’s defense – blasting Trone Garriott for attacking “a mom who battled addiction”
Nunn is seeking a third term in the IA-03 district – having defeated Democratic Rep. Cindy Axne in 2022 and defying polls two years later.
A Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll released pre-election suggested voters preferred the Democrat by a margin of 48% to 41% but Nunn won re-election with 51.8% of the vote.
The district is leaning Democrat ahead of November’s election, according to the non-partisan Cook Political Report.