State House candidate's son arrested near Miami voting location

Miami police arrest State House Democratic candidate Roy Hardemon's son

MIAMI – State House Democratic candidate Roy Hardemon's son was arrested across the street from a voting location Thursday in Miami's Little Haiti.

Simeon Boykin was wearing a red "Elect Roy Hardemon for State Representative District 108"  T-shirt when Miami police officers handcuffed him.

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Six police cars parked around the Kwik Stop, 6101 NE Fourth Court, where an employee accused him of trespassing. A few hours after the arrest, the worried father was trying to find out how his son was doing. 

"A witness told me the store clerk told him to shut up and he said, 'No, you shut up.' Next thing you know he is outside and the clerk called the police on him," Roy Hardemon, 54, said. "I heard he took off like a jackrabbit." 

Boykin's cousin is Miami Commissioner Keon Hardemon, a University of Miami law school graduate and former public defense attorney. The Hardemon family has been engaged in social activism since the 1980 McDuffie riots. They have had their share of scandals. 

Roy Hardemon himself has been arrested before -- 19 times since 1987 -- and he was on probation for punching a woman in the face when his name made it to the ballot. He completed the terms of his probation Thursday, according to the state attorney's office.  

"Not everybody can afford a lawyer. Criminal records happen with poverty, but I'm not a criminal. ... I'm a human being and I can run for office," Roy Hardemon said Thursday. "My son was doing a good thing. He survived a gunshot to the back of the head and has some disabilities."

For most of the morning, Boykin stood at the corner of Northeast Fourth Court and Northeast 61st Street to campaign. He was with about a dozen others who were campaigning near the Lemon City Branch Library, 430 NE 61st St., voting location.

Some of the people campaigning said they were getting paid between $10 to $15 per hour to stand with signs and distribute flyers. Election Day is not until Aug. 30, but early voting began on Monday and will run through Aug. 28.

360 DEGREE VIDEO | Simeon Boykin campaigning in red T-shirt


About the Author:

The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.