The ex of a Democrat congressman unleashed on the politician Sunday morning after he and his attorney allegedly tried to get her to keep quiet about his bad behavior during their marriage.
Sonya Douglass, a professor and director of the Black Education Research Center at Columbia University Teachers College, accused ex-husband Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV) of trying to strongarm her into silence in a devastating tweet thread.
“I was just minding my business until Steven and his attorney demanded I sign an NDA that would ban me from speaking about my 22-year marriage, his 10-year affair, and our divorce FOREVER,” Douglass wrote. “It includes $10,000 fines for each remark or social post. Even to a therapist! Y’all!
I was just minding my business 💅🏼 until Steven and his attorney demanded I sign an NDA that would ban me from speaking about my 22-year marriage, his 10-year affair, and our divorce FOREVER. It includes $10,000 fines for each remark or social post. Even to a therapist! Y’all! 😂
— Sonya Douglass, EdD (@drsonyadouglass) October 30, 2022
“I had no intention of posting anything and kept quiet the entire campaign,” she continued. “To think I would even want to mention his name is ridiculous. Who looks through the trash after you’ve taken it out? But I don’t respond well to bullying or intimidation so here we are.”
The pair married in 2000, and it is not clear if they are now officially divorced. On Saturday, Douglass tweeted that she would be released “from this never-ending nightmare” as soon as Horsford signs the divorce papers. In 2020, Horsford, who is seeking a third term representing parts of Las Vegas in the upcoming election, admitted to a more than a decade-long extramarital affair with Gabriela Linder, a former intern of the late Democrat Senate Majority Leader Senator Harry Reid.
Linder claimed Horsford “offered her financial support, introduced her to political connections and filmed a segment for her young son’s YouTube show using his congressional staff.” Horsford admitted paying Linder with funds from a company he controlled.
Horsford, a member of the House Congressional Progressive Caucus, is currently running against Republican challenger Sam Peters, a retired Air Force major and Bronze Star recipient. Pollsters currently categorize the race as “lean Democrat,” but with Republicans building momentum around the nation and a potential “red wave” taking shape, the devastating claim by Douglass comes at a bad time for Horsford.
In the Silver State, incumbent Governor Steve Sisolak is trailing Republican challenger Joe Lombardo and current Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat, is behind in the polls to Republican challenger Adam Laxalt.
“The only thing Steven Horsford does well is lie,” Peters’ campaign tweeted days before Douglass came forward.
Douglass alluded to a possible loss by Horsford in a subsequent tweet that also hinted Horsford had been violent.
“And he’s already blaming me should he lose his race,” she wrote. “Refuses to take responsibility for his own actions. He had hundreds of chances to do the right thing but he chose violence.”
Douglass finished the extraordinary unburdening by assuring followers she is coping with the personal turmoil from her broken marriage.
“But through it all, I am stronger, wiser, and happier than I’ve ever been in my entire adult life,” she wrote. “I pray my journey encourages others to trust God and accept nothing less than the peace, respect, and love we all deserve.”