State attorney's office files DUI charge against Manatee Commissioner George Kruse

Kruse was not arrested after he crashed his truck into a tree near his East Manatee home on April 20 - even though deputy thought he was drunk.

Karma, especially in politics, can be unforgiving. Just ask Manatee County Commissioner George Kruse.

On Tuesday, Kruse took to Twitter to chide his colleague, Commissioner Carol Whitmore, after she admitted to Holmes Beach police that she had lifted some yard signs belong to her GOP primary challenger, Jason Bearden, that had been placed on some property near her home. Kruse tweeted that Whitmore’s actions were illegal and that she had violated Bearden’s 1st Amendment rights. (Police said Whitmore should have left the signs along, but investigators had no plans to charge her.)

George W Kruse 🇺🇸 @GWKruse

@mk4man @ami_islander We have code enforcement. No candidate, or anyone, has a right to steal private property. That’s illegal and she can be charged.

On Wednesday, however, it was Kruse who was facing a criminal prosecution.

Manatee County Commissioner George Kruse faces a charge of driving under the influence, after he crashed his truck into a tree near his East Manatee home on May 20. He was not arrested that day. Instead, Manatee sheriff’s deputies allowed Kruse’s wife to drive him home, after they issued him a ticket for careless driving. (Still image taken from Manatee County Sheriff’s Office bodycam footage.)