[He] was so angered by televised remarks in opposition to
same-sex marriage by conservative
Republican presidential hopeful
Gary Bauer that he abandoned his original plan "to follow one of the loopy conservative Christian candidates around—Bauer or Alan Keyes—and write something insightful and humanizing about him, his campaign, and his supporters".
[42] Instead, he volunteered for the Bauer campaign with the intent to infect the candidate with his
flu.
He wrote that he licked doorknobs and other objects in the campaign office, and handed Bauer a saliva-coated pen, hoping to pass the virus on to Bauer and his supporters (later he said that much of his article had been fictitious). He also registered and participated in the caucus, which was illegal, as Savage was not an Iowa resident. He was charged and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of fraudulent voting in a caucus, and was sentenced to a year's
probation, 50 hours of community service, and a $750 fine.