Politicians love saying they’ll fight for you. Bernadette Greene-Placentia is saying she had to survive something brutal before she could say it honestly. The Democratic nominee in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District, who is trying to unseat Republican Rep. Abe Hamadeh, went public this week with a harrowing account. She says she was raped in the middle of the night while trying to repair one of her campaign signs.
She told the Phoenix New Times she was attacked around 2 a.m. while walking toward a campaign sign in a Sun City parking lot, north of Phoenix. She says someone hit her in the head and knocked her unconscious, and when she came to, a man was on top of her. A second man then approached, and she says she kicked at him as he moved her leg. Large chunks of what happened afterward are gone from her memory. A campaign spokesperson told ABC News the attack happened on Aug. 14.
Greene-Placentia, who is a long haul trucker by trade, told MS NOW she had gone out at odd hours to fix signs knocked down by storms “dozens of times,” mostly to beat the Arizona heat and the traffic. Sometimes her husband, Alex Placentia, or a staffer came along. This time, she was by herself. She hasn’t repaired a sign since.
Then she went quiet. Her campaign manager, Isaiah Lopez, and her husband both said she was out of contact for two days. The people around her noticed. At a canvass event in Chandler that Sunday, Lopez said, she looked visibly distraught. He and her communications manager pulled her asidee, and that’s when she told them what happened.
She also went to law enforcement. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to ABC News that a report was filed on Aug. 31 and that an investigation is ongoing, though the office wouldn’t say more. As of right now, no arrests have been mentioned.
In her interview with MS NOW, she said she couldn’t keep telling voters she’d fight for them without also fighting for women who’ve survived sexual violence. Her campaign put it plainly in a statement: “she wants other survivors to know they are not alone.” The statement also asked that her privacy be respected while she processes what happened.
For now, the case belongs to investigators, and the facts will have to come from them. What’s already clear is that a woman asking for your vote decided her story mattered more than her comfort. Whether you live in Arizona or three time zones away, that deserves our attention and our respect.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, the RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline is available 24/7 at 800-656-HOPE (4673).