By AARON SANDERFORD
Nebraska Examiner
LINCOLN — Lincoln police said Wednesday they have closed a criminal investigation into an alleged burglary at the Nebraska Republican Party headquarters during the July weekend when party leadership changed hands.
New State GOP Chairman Eric Underwood discussed the loss of at least one computer, a security camera system and file folders during the party’s recent State Central Committee meeting in Hastings. The party hired its own investigator to help police.
Lincoln Police Sgt. Jason Wesch said the department’s burglary investigation was closed without issuing a citation. He would not say why. The initial report had estimated the party’s losses at about $1,000.
On July 9, a mix of old-fashioned conservatives and Trump-style populists ousted Gov. Pete Ricketts’ party leadership team, replacing state GOP Chairman Dan Welch. Underwood and other new GOP leaders took over immediately.
The report said the new GOP leaders hired a locksmith to get into the headquarters on July 11 and found the office a mess. GOP leaders said at the time they did not know what was missing and asked others familiar with the party’s possessions for help.
GOP sources said some of the missing items were returned, including a missing laptop computer or computers. The hard drives were wiped clean of campaign data, and the missing files were not recovered.
State party officials declined to comment Wednesday.