DHS faces blowback over its attack on a Democratic House candidate

The Department of Homeland Security is coming under fire for publicly attacking Democratic congressional candidate Janelle Stelson less than a month before the midterm election.Why it matters: The Stelson campaign is threatening a lawsuit over the allegations, while a watchdog group is seeking an investigation into whether an ICE official violated restrictions on partisan political activity by federal employees."We are likely to take legal action to combat the blatant lies and coordinated misinformation campaign," Stelson campaign manager Alma Baker said in a statement to Axios.The campaign said Friday it has sent out cease and desist letters, viewed by Axios, to several news outlets that reported DHS's claims as fact.The race between Stelson and Republican Rep. Scott Perry in Pennsylvania's 10th district is one of the most competitive and expensive House elections in the country, attracting more than $26 million in spending, according to AdImpact.Driving the news: DHS published a press release on Wednesday announcing the arrest of what it said was an "illegal alien from Nigeria who exposed himself in public while working for congressional campaign in Pennsylvania."The migrant, Chimaobim Adedayo Igbojekwe, was arrested by ICE on Oct. 1 after pleading guilty to disorderly conduct last month, according to the press release.The release included a statement from ICE Deputy Director Charles Wall saying: "It's unbelievable that Janelle Stelson would employ an illegal alien to work on a Congressional campaign, let alone a pervert who exposed himself in public."Stelson herself quickly batted down the claim: "He's not an employee. He's not a volunteer," she said at an event on Wednesday.Nobody named Igbojekwe was paid by the Stelson campaign as of Sept. 30, according to disbursements tracked by the Federal Election Commission. The campaign also showed Axios a search of its volunteer database that turned up no results for the name.In its cease-and-desist letter, the campaign said Igbojekwe has also "never been employed by any vendors of the campaign."Asked Thursday for comment on this story, DHS sent Axios its initial press release. The agency did not respond to multiple follow-up emails requesting comment on the Stelson campaign's threat of legal action.Between the lines: DHS cited a New Jersey-based news outlet called "Shore News Network" as its source for the claim that Igbojekwe was a Stelson canvasser. That outlet cited a social media post from conservative activist Scott Presler."A canvasser for democrat Janelle Stelson ... was reportedly charged for indecent exposure," Presler wrote in a post on X, which included a photo of a court document that did not make reference to the Stelson campaign.Presler did not respond to a request for comment from Axios.Axios obtained an affidavit in which Trevor Jeffers, the East Pennsboro, Pa., police officer who made the initial arrest, testified that Igbojekwe was sitting in a parked car in a residential neighborho