Julius Henson

Consultant Convicted In Ehrlich Election Day Robocall Case

Ryan J. Reilly | May 11, 2012, 4:15PM

Julius Henson, campaign consultant for former Maryland Gov. Bob Ehrlich, convicted of conspiracy in a case of using Election Day robocalls to suppress African American turnout during the 2010 gubernatorial election.

Republican campaign consultant Julius Henson was convicted of conspiracy on Friday in a case involving robocalls to Maryland voters apparently intended to keep black voters from the polls in 2010, the Associated Press reports.

The election day robocalls told voters to "relax" and that Gov. Martin O'Malley and President Obama had won. "The only thing left is to watch on TV tonight."

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Robert L. Ehrlich

Aide To Former Maryland GOP Governor Found Guilty Of Election Fraud

Ryan J. Reilly | December 6, 2011, 2:45PM

Maryland gubernatorial candidate Rep. Robert Ehrlich (R), left, listens to Paul Schurick.

A chief of staff to former Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich (R) was found guilty on Tuesday on four counts, including election fraud, for his role in setting up robocalls intended to surpress minority voting turnout in the final hours of Election Day last year.

Paul Schurick's trial took place in Baltimore Circuit Court, where he was brought up on charges of conspiracy, election fraud and a charge relating to his failure to include a disclosure on the robocall that it was authorized by the campaign. He had been indicted by state prosecutors alongside Julius Henson in June.

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Robert L. Ehrlich

Aides To Former Maryland Gov Indicted For Ordering Calls To Suppress Votes

Ryan J. Reilly | June 17, 2011, 10:12AM

Julius Henson and Fmr. Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R-MD)

Two aides to former Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich (R) have been indicted for ordering what officials claim were deceptive robocalls intended to suppress Democratic turnout during Ehrlich's second run for the office last November.

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Robocalls

'Relax' Robocaller's Lawyer Argues 'Dirty Tricks' Are Free Speech

Ryan J. Reilly | December 31, 2010, 1:27PM

Julius Henson and Fmr. Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R-MD)

A Maryland political operative behind misleading election day robocalls has a long and colorful history of political tricks so dirty that even in Baltimore political consultants "don't want to even breathe the same air as him." But a lawyer representing Julius Henson (who has admitted he was responsible for robocalls telling mostly Democratic voters not to bother going to the polls on Election Day) is arguing that his client's right to free speech protects such tactics.

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Robocalls

Md. Investigators Raid Home, Office of Alleged Robocaller

Ryan J. Reilly | December 21, 2010, 12:47PM

Julius Henson and Fmr. Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R-MD)

Investigators for the Maryland prosecutor last week raided the home and office of Julius Henson, the man on the payroll of former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R-Md.) who was allegedly behind controversial robocalls on Election Day which told mostly Democratic voters not to bother going to the polls.

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Robocalls

Robocalls Telling MD Voters To 'Relax' Came From Dem Supporting GOP Nominee

Ryan J. Reilly | November 5, 2010, 2:50PM

Julius Henson and Fmr. Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R-MD)

Two hours before polls closed on Tuesday, over 50,000 Maryland voters started receiving mysterious phone calls instructing them to "relax" and not bother voting because Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) had already won re-election.

The Baltimore Sun reported that calls were sent from the account associated with a controversial Democratic operative, Julius Henson, by Rhonda Russell, a former director of Progressive Maryland.

Russell, now a Universal Elections employee, placed the order with Robodial.org, a Pennsylvania company which works exclusively with Democrats. Universal Elections is the company of Henson, a longtime Democratic operative who is based out of Baltimore but worked as a consultant for the former Gov. Bob Ehrlich (R) this election cycle in his campaign against O'Malley. In an interesting twist, Hanson previously called Ehrlich a "Nazi," but eventually took at least $32,000 in consulting fees from the Ehrlich campaign, according to the Sun.

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