Aug 19, 2006 By Alison Hawkes For The 4 min read

HARRISBURG – A Green Party candidate’s placement on the ballot for U.S. Senate was, quite literally, worth fighting for on Friday. A week of tense verbal matches between Democrats and Green Party defenders of candidate Carl Romanelli as they were reviewing the validity of his petition signatures, ended Friday morning in a fight at the third-floor office of the Department of State.

John Ryan, an independent candidate for the 145th House seat in Quakertown and founder of the anti-illegal immigrant group Pennsylvania Minutemen, got in a brawl with a court security official after stepping into a quickly escalating conflict between a Democratic lawyer and Green supporter Tom Lingenfelter.

The dispute was over whether a signature that didn’t match a listed address in the state database of registered voters should be tossed out.

Ryan and Lingenfelter – a Doylestown resident and himself an independent candidate for U.S. Congress, the 10th Senate seat, and the 143rd House seat – were both there to defend Romanelli signatures against a Democratic challenge.

No arrests were made.

It all started shortly after 9 a.m. when Lingenfelter and a Democratic lawyer got in a shouting match over whether to disqualify a signature, which was around the 11,000th of a 69,000-signature challenge.

Just who started the scuffle is in dispute. Lingenfelter said a Democratic lawyer threw his arm up at him and he reflexively did the same in self-defense. Democrats say Lingenfelter jabbed his elbow out first.

“There’s no doubt Lingenfelter instigated the whole thing,” said Democratic lawyer Alex Hartzler, who observed the incident. “For him to say otherwise shows desperation that he and his party are in, in this whole battle. The wheels are coming off their bus.”

Ryan and another Democratic lawyer stepped in to separate the two and the court security official then grabbed Ryan, sources say, and took him into the hallway.

Ryan said it was all he could do to defend himself against Commonwealth Court’s Chief of Security, Bob Snook, who he said was grabbing his neck, gouging at his eyes and tearing his shirt off. Ryan said he didn’t know Snook was an officer until he showed him his badge in the hallway, and began fighting back in self-defense.

“He was berserk,” said Ryan, who had scratches over the lower part of his face. “I just thought he was an insane Democrat.”

Lingenfelter said he watched the brawl.

“They were fighting in the hall, bouncing off the walls and everything,” he said. “It was pretty bad.

However, Snook said Ryan didn’t obey his orders to sit down in the room and when he entered the hallway, Ryan grabbed his arm and shoved. Snook said he called for a receptionist to dispatch Capitol Police and in the time it took six officers to arrive, his shirt buttons had been ripped off.

“There’s been an incident every day, every single day between (Green Party lawyer) Larry Otter, Tom Lingenfelter and the other side. A shouting, screaming cursing match every day,” Snook said.

Neither side is pressing charges. A flustered Ryan said Capitol Police told him he would probably “get the short end of the stick.” Snook said he doesn’t think it’s worthwhile and wishes the Green supporters would just calm down.

“I know these people are passionate about what they believe but they are blaming the wrong people,” he said. “They should not be taking their frustration out against the Democratic attorneys. They should be working with our legislators to change the law.”

The Green Party faces a record 67,000-signature requirement this year to be placed on the ballot. Democrats, in defense of their candidate, Bob Casey Jr., have mounted a massive effort to invalidate enough signatures to knock Romanelli off the ballot.

Romanelli submitted roughly 95,000 signatures with the help of a strange bedfellow, GOP incumbent Sen. Rick Santorum, who’s provided donor and staff support, including at least two staffers who signed into the visitor’s log for the signature review in support of the Green Party this week.

The signature review process will continue next week.

Alison Hawkes can be reached at 717-705-6330 or ahawkes@calkins-media.com.