These mailers sent to Wheeling residents prior to the city’s 2024 municipal election are now the subject of a criminal case brought by the West Virginia Secretary of State’s office. (File Photo)

WHEELING — The special prosecutor handling the case against Anand Patel — originally accused of 22 misdemeanors in sending out negative mailers against several Wheeling mayoral candidates — has filed a motion to dismiss nine of the charges.

Wetzel County Prosecutor Timothy Haught filed the motion in Ohio County Magistrate Court on Tuesday, requesting that all nine counts of publishing or circulating an anonymous item supporting or aiding defeat of an election candidate be dismissed.

Haught said Friday his motion is based on the 1995 U.S. Supreme Court decision in McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission. In that case, the Court decided 7-2 that the First Amendment protects the decision of an author to remain anonymous.

In the case, the Ohio Elections Commission fined Margaret McIntyre $100 in 1988 for violating a state law that prohibited the distribution of any kind of political or campaign literature that does not have the name and address of the person responsible for its contents.

“Those nine counts are likely unconstitutional because the law is likely unconstitutional based on the McIntyre case on free speech grounds,” Haught said.

Haught would not comment on what effect dismissing those charges would have on the other 13 charges against Patel, saying he doesn’t comment on pending criminal cases.

Patel also faces nine counts of failure to report independent expenditures aggregating $5,000 or more or $500 county race, two counts of failure to include public notice for communication by independent expenditure and two counts of making a false statement in regard to a candidate.

Patel has pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him. His next hearing is scheduled before Ohio County Magistrate Kevin Stryker on August 7.

According to the criminal complaint, Patel is accused of sending more than 12,500 mailers by U.S. mail in May 2024 ahead of that month’s Wheeling municipal election. Invoices for the nine mailers totaled $14,570.74. The mailers attacked four mayoral candidates – Denny Magruder, Chad Thalman, J.T. Thomas and Rosemary Ketchum – while two of the mailers supported mayoral candidate Beth Hinebaugh, who according to an investigation, had no knowledge about the mailers’ origin. Another mailer attacked Councilman Ben Seidler.

The mailers also contained a post office box number belonging to Wheeling Island resident Lou Smith, who according to the investigation, had no connection to the mailers.

According to state law, a disclaimer notice must contain the full name of the individual, group, political committee, corporation, or labor organization that paid for the communication, along with any abbreviated name it uses to identify itself. It must also provide the payor’s permanent street address, telephone number, or website address and must state that the communication was not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.

According to the criminal complaint, two of the mailers allegedly contained false information. One mailer attacking Seidler claimed there were multiple domestic violence calls to his home. According to the investigator, he was able to verify with Ohio County 911 Director Teresa Russell that this was not true.

Another mailer attacking Ketchum stated that “Under Rosemary Ketchum’s past leadership, WV Can’t Wait has recruited Zach Shrewsbury for the U.S. Senate.” Ketchum told investigators she had worked with the organization in the past, but wasn’t involved at the time and had nothing to do with interactions between the organization and Shrewsbury. Shrewsbury also told investigators that, while Ketchum ultimately endorsed his campaign, she neither recruited him, nor had any bearing on his decision to run.

Patel issued the following statement to the Sunday News-Register via text Friday:

“With the pending prosecutorial dismissal of the nine charges related to the anonymous mailers — and with the remaining reporting requirement charges built on that same foundation — I look forward to having a conversation about the classification of 911 calls to Councilman Seidler’s home as domestic violence, as well as the coordinated recruitment and organizational structure of radical, coastal-funded left-wing groups seeking to infiltrate all levels of West Virginia government — issues that relate directly to the narrative surrounding two of the remaining charges,” he said.