Judge Photo Shops Picture of “The Rock” For Her Campaign
Heidi Almase, Vegas municipal judge, has been forced to remove a photoshopped picture showing Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson standing next to her from her campaign Facebook page. Although the judge’s campaign manager Jennifer Barrier’s late father, Jenn, a wrestling promoter, was close friends with Johnson and she was apparently waiting on written authorization to use the photo, Barrier did not secure the needed permission before a newspaper posted a screenshot of the page. Next to the manipulated picture was a caption that read, “It just makes sense: Re-Elect Judge Heidi Almase.” The caption was not in quotation marks, and Johnson’s name was placed underneath.
Barrier claimed the picture and caption were not meant to be used as a marketing tool, specifically responding, “There’s no quotation marks. It’s not an endorsement.” Las Vegas Municipal Judge Heidi Almase has indeed never met The Rock in person. The doctored image combines a campaign photo of Almase in a wine colored shirt and black scarf with a three-year-old picture of Johnson in a gray button down shirt. Under the photo, several of Almase’s supporters commented on the famous wrestler and movie star’s supposed support, exclaiming “That is amazing!” and “Way to go!” Almase initially seemed to confirm Johnson’s endorsement by jokingly responding,“I’m ‘almost’ as tall as him. Almost.”
Tom Letiza, the campaign manager for Almase’s opponent, Chief Deputy District Attorney Cara Campbell, was the individual who took the most offense to the judge’s actions, claiming the post is “a fraud” and questioning the legitimacy of a possible authorization. He added, taking a stab at the judge’s legal position, “It’s deceitful, dishonest, and disingenuous. Laws are made for a reason and if our own judges aren’t following the laws, how can the public trust them or their integrity on the bench?” According to the state’s Code of Judicial Conduct, a judge or judicial candidate must not “knowingly, or with reckless disregard for the truth, make any false or misleading statement.” “Even if she mysteriously comes up with a letter, it doesn’t rise to the level of what she has done here by fraudulently making phony pictures with her and a celebrity,” Letizia said. “The voters will decide in the end if this judge should be removed from office.” By late Wednesday morning, the post had been removed from Almase’s social media.
The campaign between Letiza and Almase has gotten heated in the past few weeks as the election approaches. As of late May, Campbell had raised approximately $135,527, while Almase had raised $66,843. The high profile position carries a six-year term on the bench and pays nearly $200,000 per year, so there’s no wonder why competing for the spot has become contentious. On Wednesday afternoon, Almase posted another image on her Facebook page. This time it was of Campbell over the words “FRAUD ALERT!” Barrier is also hitting back after Letizia used unattributed comments about Almase on a flier for his campaign. Barrier said the flier amounted to “slander” and the quotes were “complete and utter lies.” Letizia responded that the claims made by Almase’s manager were utter nonsense, saying, “That’s 100 percent exactly the comments made by several attorneys in this community.”
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Judge removes photoshopped image of ‘The Rock’ from her campaign website
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