A registered sex offender is running to be a Laramie County Community College trustee, and the local Republican Party isn’t happy about it.
Anthony Schmidt told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday his campaign is about showing people that someone’s criminal past doesn’t have to forever define them.
“I am not the same man I was 22 years ago,” he said. “I have taken great strides to ensure I am not that same man.”
Schmidt pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a child in 2002.
Police arrested Schmidt, who was 24 at the time, after he arranged to meet up with an undercover agent posing as a 14-year-old boy online. When authorities intercepted Schmidt, he had condoms and lubricant in his pocket and admitted to previously having sex with a different minor over a period of about four months.
After having his probation revoked two times, Schmidt was sentenced to four to 10 years in prison in 2011.
One of the revocations happened when Schmidt was accused of soliciting sex from another minor in 2006. He was also terminated from his sex offender treatment programs multiple times. In a 2011 letter, his probation agent expressed concern about Schmidt being a danger to society because of his propensity to lie, minimize wrongdoing and allow a young man to live with him against her directive.
By 2018, Schmidt was released from prison.
He described his actions Tuesday as those of someone who was “young and naive.”
How Can He Run?
That excuse doesn’t fly with the Laramie County Republican Party, which condemned Schmidt’s candidacy in a Tuesday statement.
“Schmidt’s decision to run for this critical position is a direct affront to the values of our community and brings serious concerns regarding the safety of our schools and colleges,” the party said.
Laramie County GOP Committeeman Dallas Tyrrell pointed out to Cowboy State Daily that Schmidt has already had a few chances to redeem himself.
“He’s a repeat offender now trying to infiltrate a community college,” Tyrrell said. “Minors attend school out there regularly.”
Nonviolent felonies in Wyoming cover acts performed without physical violence. Charges considered violent felonies in Wyoming are murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, sexual assault in the first or second degree, robbery, aggravated assault, strangulation of a household member, aircraft hijacking, arson in the first or second degree, aggravated burglary, and repeated offenses for domestic battery.
Under Wyoming law, nonviolent felons automatically have their rights to vote restored if they completed their supervision or were discharged from an institution on or after 2010.
Schmidt had his voting rights restored in 2018, the same year he completed his prison sentence.
By 2023, Schmidt had his full rights restored, which includes the right to serve on a jury, hold political office and possess firearms, all new rights provided as a result of legislation passed earlier that year in Wyoming.
In addition to hosting a number of high school students taking college classes, Laramie County Community College (LCCC) also has a day care.
As a registered sex offender, Schmidt still has to remain 1,000 feet from schools. But an exception exists to this rule when an offender is a student at a school.
This was the case for Schmidt, who graduated from LCCC in 2021. He believes a similar exemption could apply if he’s elected as a trustee.
“When I was a student there it was part of the requirements that I speak with campus security and the registry office to make sure that I’m in compliance and doing what I need to to be safe around those particular people,” he said.
Redemption?
Schmidt, who is now married, said he’s paid his debt to society and learned and grown from his mistakes. He also said that he never received new charges for what he was accused of when his probation was revoked by a judge.
“I broke my probation because I didn’t want to follow the rules of my probation, not because there was a new offense or allegation,” Schmidt said.
But an allegation was made against Schmidt by his probation officer, who accused him of soliciting sex from a minor again, this time when he was 28.
Schmidt said he understands the public’s concerns about his campaign, which he believes stems from misinformation on recidivism rates in society.
“They see the charge and they believe that’s all you are, that red mark is all that you are,” Schmidt said. “We’re shutting out a lot of people that could be tremendous values to society that have done the steps to move forward and be that productive person.”
Schmidt’s campaign may have garnered a bit less attention if he ran for a position not attached to a school like city council or a planning and zoning board, but he specifically chose to run for the LCCC Board of Trustees because it is nonpartisan.
“I wanted to dip my foot into the political arena in a nonpartisan way because partisan gets a lot more vitriol where you’re attacked more for the party banner rather than your actual policy positions,” Schmidt said. “This is me speaking for me, with my personal beliefs and my values.”
He also has no false illusions about his chances of winning, which he considers “very slim.” Schmidt is one of seven candidates vying for four seats on the board.
“I realize there’s going to be a very large microscope on me, even if I get it, because if I screw up, it not only affects me, it affects other people trying to make better in their lives,” he said. “So, I have to be above reproach.”
Partisanship
Tyrrell said the Laramie GOP has a duty to speak out publicly against Schmidt’s candidacy even though he’s running for a nonpartisan position.
“Regardless of the position, we have a duty to inform qualified electors about candidates,” Tyrrell said. “Mr. Schmidt is running for a very serious position and we have a duty to let them know about his background.”
Schmidt, who is a registered Democrat, said he’s concerned about an over politicization of the educational content at LCCC. He also wants to steer the school away from a growing reliance on online education.
He said it’s hypocritical that the same group of people opposing his campaign also support former President Donald Trump, who has been found liable for sexual assault and convicted for 34 felonies, and is awaiting possible charges on more. Trump has filed appeals on all of these convictions.
“Yet, they’ll attack me, someone who has owned up to his poor decisions and has served his time,” Schmidt said.
Laramie County GOP Chairman Taft Love said it’s simply a matter of protecting children.
“Children are our most precious resource,” he said. “If we can’t protect them, we’ve failed as a society.”
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
