An Arizona lawmaker who became the face of the #MeToo movement in the Grand Canyon State has been accused herself of sexual misconduct.
Republican State Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita had become a state #MeToo darling when she accused former State Rep. Don Shooter of sexual harassment. Ugenti-Rita was one of several women who made the allegations against Shooter, which eventually led to his expulsion from politics.
Now Ugenti-Rita faces her own #MeToo allegations, from a lobbyist who says the state senator and her now husband, Brian Townsend, sexually harassed her while the politician was still in the Arizona House of Representatives. Ugenti-Rita was a state representative between 2013 and 2015, meaning the alleged allegations happened before the politician made her accusations against Shooter.
Arizona Family reported that the lobbyist, in a sworn deposition released Wednesday, said she was sexually harassed by Ugenti-Rita on multiple occasions:
The victim says, as a lobbyist, she invited Ugenti-Rita out for birthday drinks to help solidify her professional relationship with her. She got uncomfortable when Ugenti-Rita allegedly showed photos of herself in lingerie on her phone.
That same night, the victim also did body shots off Ugenti-Rita. In sworn testimony, Ugenti-Rita doesn’t deny that, but she says the lobbyist had asked to.
The victim also says Townsend texted her explicit photos of the couple, with requests for her to join them. Weeks later, during a conference, Ugenti-Rita allegedly invited the lobbyist to her hotel room. She was again uncomfortable, but agreed, saying, “They are both powerful people in Arizona politics, and I didn’t want them to affect any future career opportunities or harm me in any other potential way.”
But she ended up leaving after she said the lawmaker sat provocatively on the couch and kept asking her to stay until Townsend showed up. The victim said, “I felt like if Brian showed up, it would have put me in a potentially dangerous situation.”
Arizona’s Senate Democratic Leader David Bradly told the outlet that the “allegations contained in the deposition appear to be a clear violation of our sexual harassment policy that warrants further investigation by President [Karen] Fann.”
Fann, a Republican, wouldn’t say whether she would launch an investigation into the claims against Ugenti-Rita. Fann refused to comment to Arizona Family about the ongoing litigation and said she has not received an ethics complaint against Ugenti-Rita.
It is unlikely Ugenti-Rita will get the same treatment as former Rep. Katie Hill, who had sexual relations with members of her staff against House rules. Hill was able to deny the allegations against her until photographic evidence emerged. She was then allowed to claim she was the victim of revenge porn. No man in a similar position would have received the same treatment.
For Ugenti-Rita, she will likely be attacked by Democrats due to her status as a Republican, while few people will note that this has been a fairly common situation throughout the #MeToo movement, which was started to get abusive (men) out of power but turned into a free-for-all for women to air grievances. Multiple people who have either claimed to be allies of the movement or victims themselves have been accused of sexual misconduct themselves. The most famous of these cases was actress Amber Heard, who claimed ex-husband Johnny Depp abused her, only for Depp to turn around and provide evidence that Heard was the abuser.