Democrat Congressional Candidate Says She Was Raped While Repairing Campaign Sign

A Democratic congressional candidate in Arizona says she was raped while repairing a campaign sign in the middle of the night in August, an allegation that remains under investigation by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.

Bernadette Greene-Placentia, the Democratic nominee challenging Republican Rep. Abraham Hamadeh in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District, told the Phoenix New Times that two men attacked her shortly after 2 a.m. on August 14 as she walked across a parking lot in Sun City to repair a damaged sign.

One man struck her in the head, causing her to lose consciousness, she said. When she regained consciousness, she said, he was sexually assaulting her. She recalled hearing something resembling “-ic b*tch, not a very good f*ck,” but acknowledged that she was unsure of his exact words. She said her mind interpreted the first part as “Democratic b*tch.”

Greene-Placentia said a second man then approached and pushed at her leg with his foot. She said she began kicking at him, prompting him to say, “Not even worth it,” before both men left.

Greene-Placentia said her memories of the attack and its immediate aftermath are fragmented. She does not remember getting up from the parking lot, pulling up her clothing, closing her Jeep’s hatch, or driving home.

“It’s just these little tiny flashes of things that I do remember,” she told the New Times. “As much as I don’t want to remember, I’ve tried very, very hard to remember more stuff. But that’s where I’m at.”

The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Greene-Placentia reported a sexual assault on August 31, more than two weeks after the alleged attack. The sheriff’s office declined to provide additional information, citing the ongoing investigation.

Greene-Placentia said she initially stayed silent because she was embarrassed and wanted to forget what happened. She said she eventually decided to speak about it because she felt she could not campaign on behalf of sexual-assault victims without sharing her own experience.

Her campaign manager, Isaiah Lopez, said Greene-Placentia essentially went “missing in action” for two days after the alleged attack. Her husband, Alex Placentia, said she was behaving unusually, spending much of her time in the bath and experiencing nausea when they spoke by phone.

Campaign staff members said they noticed something was wrong when Greene-Placentia arrived at a canvassing event two days later with a severe headache. She told Lopez she had been raped, and told her husband the next day, according to the New Times.

She also told a political friend and an Arizona state representative about the alleged assault in the days and weeks that followed.

Greene-Placentia said she was left with bruises across her body and believes she may have suffered a concussion, although she did not seek medical attention immediately after the alleged attack. According to the police report described by the New Times, she told investigators she experienced vaginal bleeding for three days afterward.

A former long-haul trucker and small-business owner, Greene-Placentia has said she logged more than four million miles during her career. She won the Democratic primary for Arizona’s 8th District and is now challenging Hamadeh, the Republican incumbent, in November. The Cook Political Report rates the race solidly Republican.

Greene-Placentia said she had routinely gone out late at night during the campaign to repair or replace damaged signs, sometimes alone and sometimes with her husband or a volunteer. She said she has stopped doing so since the alleged assault.

“Speaking publicly about what happened has been incredibly difficult for Bernadette,” a campaign spokesperson said Wednesday. “She chose to share her story because she knows many survivors struggle in silence.”

Greene-Placentia said she hopes speaking publicly will encourage other victims of sexual violence to come forward.

“I need to let women know that it’s okay to talk about it,” she told the New Times.

Authorities have not publicly identified any suspects or announced any arrests in connection with the alleged assault.