Republicans, online influencers, and Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) are rallying around erroneous reports that an undocumented immigrant, who was arrested for indecent exposure, worked for Janelle Stelson’s (D) campaign.
Chimaobim Adedayo Igbojekwe, a Nigerian immigrant, was arrested in East Pennsboro Township last month after he was spotted sitting in his car without wearing any pants, and according to a criminal complaint, Igbojekwe was in possession of material promoting Stelson’s campaign.
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“ We don’t know this individual,” Stelson told reporters at a press conference in Lemoyne on Thursday. She added, “everybody hired goes through me, so I would know. Our volunteers would know. He’s not an employee. He’s not a volunteer.”
Federal Election Commission records show that Stelson’s campaign have no financial relationships with Igbojekwe, and the criminal complaint filed with the commonwealth did not state that Igbojekwe worked for the campaign.
“As a fellow reporter for many years, I always checked my sources. Somebody didn’t check their sources very hard,” Stelson said.
Reports first surfaced on Sept. 30, 2026, when the Camp Hill Police Blotter Facebook page falsely labeled Igbojekwe as a “political canvasser” for Stelson’s campaign.
Those false reports were then picked up the following day by Shore News Network, a New Jersey-based conservative media outlet, which then made its way to rightwing influencers.
That then prompted Immigration and Customs Enforcement Deputy Director Charles Wall to issue a statement late on Wednesday accusing Stelson of hiring Igbojekwe.
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“It’s unbelievable that Janelle Stelson would employ an illegal alien to work on a Congressional campaign, let alone a pervert who exposed himself in public,” Wall said in a statement.
Less than 24 hours later, Rep. Scott Perry’s (R-York) campaign began sending paid text messages to residents across the district showing Stelson with Igbojekwe on a graphic that said “Janelle Stelson illegal alien campaign worker arrested.”
Stelson is running against Perry in a rematch this November after losing to Perry by a little more than 5,000 votes in the last election, and political forecasters have rated the seat as a toss-up.
ICE declined to provide further comment when asked what evidence they had of Igbojekwe working for Stelson’s campaign, and instead responded to inquiries by sending their previous press release.
Stelson called for Igbojekwe’s deportation if a crime was committed in a statement on Wednesday, and reiterated those calls at Thursday’s press conference.
“ If he’s here in this country illegally, and especially if he’s committing crimes, he probably needs to be deported,” Stelson said.
