70-year-old Republican senator from Indiana Ron Alting announced his resignation after he was spotted multipl times at several Walmart stores shoplifting. His embarrassing shoplifting incidents were reported in Lafayette, Monticello and Florida. In a Facebook post Wednesday afternoon, he wrote, “Twenty-eight years ago, I asked the people of this community for the privilege of representing them in the Indiana Senate. It has been the greatest honor of my life.”Addressing the shoplifting incidents, he wrote: “Over the past several weeks, I have been undergoing extensive medical evaluation for concerning changes in my judgment, behavior and cognitive functioning. That evaluation has included specialists in neurology, geriatrics and mental health, as well as an MRI and other testing. That work is continuing as my doctors seek a definitive diagnosis.”“After many difficult conversations with my family, my doctors and people I have trusted for many years, I have concluded that I need to bring my time in public office to an end and devote my attention to my health and my family.”But voting in this year’s election is already underway and his name is there on the ballot. Alting said if he’s elected, his successor will be chosen through the Republican Party’s vacancy process. “I have great confidence that this process will produce an outstanding leader who will serve Senate District 22 and its people well,” he wrote.
What are the shoplifting incidents?
Alting has not been charged in the Indiana incidents, according to court records. Elkhart County Prosecutor Vicki Becker has been asked to investigate several reported cases in two Lafayette Walmarts.Monticello police have not responded with the “factual circumstances” of the Oct. 1 shoplifting, as required by Indiana open record laws.“I was shocked when everything developed the last two weeks,” said Tracy Brown, chairman of the Tippecanoe County Republican party, noting he knew Alting’s resignation might be a possibility. “I understand the direction he is taking.”Journal and Courier reported that Alting consulted with Dr Greg Loomis, former Tippecanoe County health department director and a retired neurologist, who said Wednesday that Alting’s most recent MRI scan shows typical clusters of cholesterol pieces that are common for someone who is 70 and has some health challenges. “There was no evidence of anything suggestive of a neurodegenerative disorder like Alzheimer’s disease. But there’s a lot of neurological diseases that can only be identified at autopsy,” Loomis said. “So the best you can do is diagnosis of exclusion, and you exclude everything that you possibly can.”
