Woman, 61, Tells Cops A Man Named Ted Stole Her "Obama Phone"

A South Carolina woman told cops that a male acquaintance stole “her government issued ‘Obama Phone’” and a pair of DVDs from her residence, according to a police report.

Rosa Clowney, a 61-year-old Spartanburg resident, told officers that she had invited a man named “Ted” over to her house Thursday night to watch a pair of movies she had borrowed from the library (“Act of Valor” and “The Bourne Identity”).

After watching the films, Clowney told police, "Ted" left her residence with the DVDs and her blue “Obama Phone.” Clowney said that she had no other information about “Ted,” adding that she was reporting the theft because “the library was going to charge her $65.00 for the missing movies.”

The Spartanburg Police Department larceny report is apparently the first time the phrase “Obama Phone” has been memorialized in such a document.

The federal government’s Lifeline program, which began in 1985, provides phones to financially disadvantaged individuals. While the program’s mobile phone component launched months before Barack Obama was first inaugurated, the 44th president has been linked to it largely due to a notorious video shot during the 2012 presidential campaign.