“The harassment began soon after a report by a 19-year-old intern, who alleged an Idaho lawmaker raped her, became public, the Associated Press reported here on Tuesday, May 4, 2021.
“One state representative sought a copy of the police report and made inquiries into how the young woman herself could be referred for criminal charges for reporting the alleged rape. Another shared links to a far-right blog post that included the intern’s name, photo and personal details about her life with thousands of people in a newsletter and on social media. And members of a far-right, anti-government activist group tried to follow and harass the young woman after she was called to testify in a legislative public ethics hearing.” (Emphasis added.)
The details:
“Rep. Priscilla Giddings, a Republican from the tiny community of White Bird, shared the link with Doe’s name and photo in a newsletter to constituents and said the allegations were nothing more than a ‘liberal smear job.'”
“Rep. Heather Scott, a Republican from the community of Blanchard, filed a public record request with the city of Boise seeking a copy of the young woman’s police report. Scott approached Rep. Melissa Wintrow, a Democrat from Boise, to ask about how a person who files a false police report alleging sexual assault could be charged.”
“Jane Doe” (not her real name) “was shielded from public view during the [legislative ethics] hearing, and the committee warned everyone her identity should stay private. As Doe left the hearing, some onlookers who were there in support of [the alleged rapist] rushed out to try to film her. Boise resident Karen Smith, herself a former Statehouse intern who attended the ethics hearing to support Doe, heard the intern screaming in the hallway after she was accosted. ‘I thought, Oh no, somebody needs to maybe go help,’ Smith said. When Smith found the group, Doe was curled up in a ball on the floor as her legal team tried to shield her with umbrellas. The onlookers were trying to get close to the young woman to videotape her and take photos.”
The GOP representative the intern accused of raping her resigned from the Idaho legislature last week.
Photos: Reps. Priscilla Giddings (top) and Heather Scott (below)