Bernadette Greene Placentia never saw it coming. The Arizona congressional candidate said she’s been a truck driver for “27 years across four million miles” and has managed to take care of herself.
That changed on Aug. 14, when she said she was brutally attacked and sexually assaulted while fixing campaign signs around 2 a.m. in a Phoenix suburb, something she and her husband routinely did late at night to avoid the scorching Arizona summer heat.
The details are horrifying. She was alone, walking back to her car, when she was knocked out. When she woke, a man was getting off her and she “felt the weight” of another one.
That account of the Democrat vying to unseat Republican Rep. Abe Hamadeh shook Arizonans — though not everyone. She said there’s seen an outpouring of “support,” “love” and “compassion,” while others have questioned her account.
Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., responded forcefully.
“We cannot tolerate political or sexual violence in any form,’’ he said in a statement.
Hamadeh called for the attackers to be arrested and prosecuted.
“No American should become a victim of a crime in their own community,” said the first-term congressman, who represents the Republican stronghold of District 8, covering the northern and western parts of metropolitan Phoenix.
We don’t know whether the attack was politically motivated. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that it is investigating the allegations but isn’t commenting. But we do know that fixing campaign signs shouldn’t have put Greene Placentia in physical danger.
She told the Phoenix New Times, which first published her account, that she heard one of the attackers “mumble something like, “-ic b—-,” which she later interpreted as possibly meaning “Democratic b—-.”
Like so many others who’ve been sexually attacked, she said she felt ashamed, angry and embarrassed. And she happens to be a political candidate, a woman participating in American democracy.
Greene Placentia acknowledged that her recollection of the attack is fuzzy, and she hasn’t characterized the attack as politically motivated because she doesn’t know. Those attackers might have just lunged at her without a clue who she was.
She said she didn’t want to tell anyone, not even her husband, whom she said normally accompanied her to fix campaign signs at night. She didn’t go to the hospital and only reported it to authorities weeks later. And she told ABC News that she began to feel like a “hypocrite” for not reporting the rape and, thus, couldn’t remain silent anymore.
That initial behavior is understandable. Like so many others who’ve been sexually attacked, she said she felt ashamed, angry and embarrassed. And she happens to be a political candidate, a woman participating in American democracy. We know women throughout history have endured sexual attacks, sometimes as acts of political violence.
This bombshell story has exploded at a time of deep political division in Arizona, a battleground state where political toxicity runs deep. Greene Placentia said the outpouring of support has been deeply moving. Yet among prominent Arizona Republicans, her political opponent stands out for responding publicly.
How about the rest of Arizona’s Republican politicos? Largely silent, as far as I can tell. They’ve shown little public empathy for a woman who said she endured a brutal attack.
That silence says a great deal about today’s politics. It tells us that Arizonans, like the rest of the country, remain deeply tribal and deeply divided.
Greene Placentia’s account left some of us spinning and questioning whether ordinary people like her feel safe enough to participate in America’s democratic process. But for now, let’s just hope Greene Placentia finds peace, safety and justice.
The post The reaction to an Arizona congressional candidate’s reported assault highlights a troubling political divide appeared first on MS NOW.
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