A candidate for Congress in Arizona on Wednesday said she was raped in August as she repaired campaign signs.
Bernadette Greene-Placentia, the Democratic candidate for the state’s 8th Congressional District, said she was sexually assaulted around 2 a.m. on a Friday evening that month in a parking lot as she carried out her nighttime routine of repairing campaign signs, something she said she often does to avoid the heat and traffic.
Greene-Placentia, who is challenging Rep. Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ), told the Phoenix New Times that she doesn’t remember much of the incident but that she was hit over the head and woke up to a man on top of her. She said she told her campaign staff what happened that Sunday and her husband the following day. Greene-Placentia reported the assault to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office two weeks later, having delayed going to police because she was “embarrassed,” the congressional candidate said.
She told authorities that the rape occurred near 99th Avenue and Bell Road in Sun City. Greene-Placentia said she vaginally bled for three days after the rape, may have suffered a concussion, and was covered with bruises from the sexual assault.
Witnesses who spoke with or encountered Greene-Placentia during the two-day gap between when she said she was raped and when she told people about the incident said they believed “something’s not right” with the candidate and that “she looked like she was gonna fall over.”
Arizona lawmakers swiftly weighed in.
“I’m absolutely heartbroken to hear this news, and I’m thinking of Bernadette and her loved ones during this incredibly difficult time,” Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) said. “We cannot tolerate political or sexual violence in any form. Those responsible must be held accountable.”
“Absolutely heartbreaking and horrifying. Our hearts are with Bernadette Greene-Placentia,” the social media account for Arizona House Democrats wrote in a post on X.
“This is absolutely horrific. I’m thinking of @bernadetteaz08 and sending her my deepest support and solidarity. No one should ever have to experience such a horrific act of sexual violence,” Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ) added.
Greene-Placentia is seeking to oust Hamadeh in November. The district is rated solid Republican by the Cook Political Report.