Florida Democratic Governor Candidate Charged With Aggravated Battery of Elderly Parents

Flagler County authorities in Palm Coast, Florida, arrested 46-year-old Kevin Cichowski, a listed Democratic candidate for governor, on Friday on multiple counts of aggravated battery, tampering with a witness, and robbery after an alleged domestic attack on two people over 65 inside a home. Deputies say one victim reported that Cichowski struck them with a cane and threw a cellphone at the other while threatening to kill them and to kill law enforcement if 911 was called; one of the victims is described as bedridden. Body camera footage released to the Associated Press shows Cichowski insisting he “hasn’t done anything wrong,” claiming his parents were experiencing mental health problems and that his father tried to kill him, as officers escorted him to a patrol car. The sheriff’s office says deputies evacuated the two victims and that Cichowski was then taken into protective custody after making suicidal statements. Cichowski, who previously ran for Palm Coast mayor in 2021 and is currently on the state’s list of Democratic gubernatorial candidates for the crowded Aug. 18 primary, did not have an attorney of record as of Sunday, and the case is already circulating in Florida political circles as a test of how parties handle serious criminal allegations against marginal but officially filed candidates.