By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews
A recording of Saturday’s encounter between Delegate Chao Wu and Republican candidate Spencer Rhoda at the Damascus Community Center does not support the account Wu gave voters on Facebook, according to MDBayNews’ review of the audio.
Rhoda posted the recording to his Facebook page and YouTube channel. It runs 5 minutes and 23 seconds, and MDBayNews found no cuts or edits in it. On the recording, Wu approaches Rhoda. Rhoda then asks Wu a series of questions about his background, his policies, and his voting history. Wu declines to answer, becomes defensive, and does not walk away. At no point does Rhoda raise his voice, lose his composure, or say anything threatening. No one else, including a child, is heard.
That is far from what Wu posted. He wrote that Rhoda “became enraged, belligerent, and agitated,” that he kept approaching after being told to stop, and that his young son later said he feared a man “would pull out a gun and kill you.”
Fitzgerald Mofor, who was present, called Wu’s statement “a dangerous lie” on X. In a video response on X and Facebook, Rhoda and Mofor denied the allegations and said no violence was discussed and no children were around during the conversation. Mofor said his campaign would seek video from the center and that the Montgomery County Police Department was involved.
What the audio does and doesn’t establish
- It captures the conversation between Wu and Rhoda from start to finish as far as MDBayNews can tell. It does not show what happened before or after, or where Wu’s son was at the time.
- MDBayNews has not independently confirmed any police involvement.
- Video from the center has not been released.
Sources: Audio recording of the October 24, 2026 exchange, posted by Spencer Rhoda on Facebook and YouTube; Chao Wu’s Facebook post, October 24, 2026; Fitzgerald Mofor’s X post and response video on X and Facebook, October 24 to 26, 2026.
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