A controversial political protester in The Villages has been cleared in another legal case.
A motion was granted this week in Sumter County Court dismissing a charge of violating an injunction against 74-year-old Ed McGinty of the Village of Hadley.
McGinty originally was arrested Sept. 24 after reportedly showing up at the home of a woman in The Villages with whom he has been locked in a long-running, bitter political feud. He had been banned from the Hadley pool the previous day after arguing with the ardent Trump supporter, who had been wearing a “Joe Biden Sucks” T-shirt. McGinty has become well-known for his anti-Trump protests in The Villages, which involved big signs on display on and around his golf cart.
McGinty was charged with stalking after showing up at the woman’s home in The Villages. However, McGinty was acquitted of that charge earlier this year after the prosecutor’s office failed to prove its case.
McGinty was charged with violating an injunction – while free on bond in the stalking case – when he returned to the Hadley Pool and parked near his political nemesis’ golf cart.
McGinty’s attorney filed a motion to dismiss that charge, pointing to Judge William Hallman’s hand-written notations on a legal document in the case. Hallman had presided at an injunction hearing after the woman sought protection from McGinty. The defense and prosecution both quibbled about Hallman’s notes penned on the document.
McGinty has long proclaimed that he was not barred by the judge from being at the same place at the same time as the woman. Instead, he was merely prohibited from having direct contact with his political foe. McGinty, and his attorney, have maintained McGinty was allowed to be at the pool at the same time as the woman.
McGinty has since been banned from the Hadley Pool until Oct. 26 thanks to a ruling earlier this year by the Sumter Landing Community Development District Board of Supervisors. That board based its decision on advice from Recreation Director John Rohan.
