A politically outspoken Villager has entered a plea in a stalking case.
Ed McGinty, 73, of the Village of Hadley, entered a plea of not guilty to the stalking charge this past week in Sumter County Court. He remains free on $5,000 bond.
McGinty, who became well known and controversial in The Villages for his anti-Trump demonstrations in the lead up to the 2020 election, was arrested Sept. 24 after showing up at the home of a fellow Villager he had tormented the previous day at the Hadley swimming pool. The woman wearing a T-shirt proclaiming, “Joe Biden Sucks,” had gotten into the water for her regular daily exercise. McGinty called the woman a “fat slob” and told her that “working out in the pool would do her no good,” according to the arrest report. He called her “white trash” and ordered her to remove the T-shirt, which she was wearing over her bathing suit. The Villages District Government legally banned McGinty from the pool.
A document McGinty filed with the court offers some particulars about his finances:
• He collects $1,700 per month in Social Security.
• He has $300,000 in real estate equity.
• He has $4,000 in a bank account and another $35,000 in savings.
• He lists two motor vehicles among his assets, a 2012 Prius and a 2004 Corvette.
McGinty is being represented criminal defense attorney Julia Melanie Slaughter of Ocala.