In a galaxy not far, far away — i.e. Ukraine — the police of Odessa found themselves with an illegal alien problem of the most literal nature: a man dressed as Chewbacca from Star Wars was arrested and paraded before a court on a local election day.
According to United Press International, “Chewy” showed up in support of “Darth Vader,” and police said he was in violation of laws against campaigning on election day. However, The Guardian pointed out a statement posted to the Instagram account of the Ukrainian police, which read:
Nothing unusual here, just Chewbacca detained for being without documents while driving Darth Vader to the elections in Odessa. The Sith Lord has already claimed this was illegal as Chewbacca is his pet and general servant and thus does not require documents. A photo posted by Підтримаємо Ukraine Police (@ukraine_police) on
The man was hauled before a court and fined 170 hryvnia (approximately $8) for this administrative offense. Journalist Christian Borys tweeted a photo of Chewbacca awaiting his sentence.
Bystanders were also on hand to capture video of his arrest. Unfortunately, his partner in crime, Han Solo, wasn’t able to bail him out.
What police should be worried about is the growing influence of the Sith. Chewy’s “candidate,” Darth Vader, is said to have been running for mayor as part of the Ukraine Internet Party, which clearly takes a more lighthearted approach to these elections. NBC pointed out that candidate Aleksandr Borovik took to Facebook to write his sentiments about another candidate by the name of Emperor Palpatine, who was elected to city council. He wrote, “We all make our own choices. But it's beyond my understanding. People, what's wrong with you?”
The police were accurate is stating this case with Chewy is nothing unusual, as last year’s election saw even more dark Star Wars characters throwing their names into the election pool. It’s only a matter of time before the Sith gain full control over the Senate — I mean city council.