KINSTON, N.C. (WITN) - Kinston police today apologized to a city council candidate whom they arrested yesterday for perjury.

Quarla Blackwell was charged with perjury and swearing falsely, all stemming from a formal protest filed September 18th by the chair of the Lenoir County Republican Party, Sean Keenan.

Police originally posted on social media that they were looking to arrest the woman, but couldn’t find her. They then posted that she had turned herself in at the magistrate’s office, “...however she fled before officers arrived.”

Blackwell called into the WITN newsroom last night and told us, “I only showed up one time to the magistrate’s office. What the police are saying is a lie.”

Today, police say it was miscommunication between the 911 center and officers.

They say Blackwe

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