Arizona congressional candidate says she was sexually assaulted when repairing campaign signs

PHOENIX (AP) — An Arizona congressional candidate says she was knocked unconscious and sexually assaulted this summer while she was repairing campaign signs overnight.

Bernadette Greene-Placentia told investigators that two men raped her, and she kicked her feet up at one point to try to fight back. She said she felt the weight of one of her attackers on her body, and had bruises on her arms from being held down, a bump on her head and other injuries, according to police reports.

“I knew that I had been knocked out,” Greene-Placentia told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Greene-Placentia, 52, is a Democrat who is challenging incumbent Republican Rep. Abe Hamadeh for the 8th Congressional District seat representing parts of metro Phoenix that are reliably red. She said she told her husband and campaign staff about the mid-August attack in Sun City days after it happened. The Phoenix New Times first reported on it.

Greene-Placentia told the AP she was disgusted that two men took control of her body and she had no say in it. She said she decided to speak out publicly when she realized she was telling voters she would advocate for them when she was not advocating for herself.

“My takeaway is that I have a lot more empathy and understanding of why so many women don’t come forward,” she said. “And, and I’m hoping that I can encourage them.”

Greene-Placentia said she could not recall many details of the Aug. 14 assault, including the exact location or a description of the men, though she said one wore black boots and had small feet. She told investigators one of the men used an expletive to describe her, and she believes he referenced her political party.

She said she does not know whether the attack was politically motivated, whether she was followed there or whether it was a crime of opportunity by attackers who saw a woman in a parking lot: “I wish I knew.”

The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment on its investigation.

“I have read the disturbing story and call upon authorities to investigate these serious allegations thoroughly, including finding all possible camera footage of the time and place in order to prosecute the crime to the fullest extent of the law,” Hamadeh said in a statement. “No American should become a victim of a crime in their own community.”

Greene-Placentia is a former long-haul trucker and later ran a small transportation company, according to her campaign.

In a social media post supporting Democrat Pete Buttigieg’s 2020 run for the presidency, Greene-Placentia called herself a former Republican and a “never Trumper,” and said she voted Libertarian in 2016. Greene-Placentia later became more engaged in Arizona Democratic politics.

She said she often put up and repaired campaign signs overnight because it was cooler than the blistering summer days and there was less traffic.

Arizona Democratic Party treasurer Greg Freeman said he got a call from Greene-Placentia, a friend who ran his 2024 campaign for a county assessor, the morning of Aug. 17. She told him she had been sexually assaulted by two men, Freeman said, and he could tell she was not ready to go to the police or share it publicly.

“Obviously she was processing it on the phone,” Freeman said. “She was just in shock. She was just horrified by what happened.”

Greene-Placentia said she wishes she had called police immediately and gone to the hospital. After the attack she took multiple showers and washed the clothes she was wearing, police reports state.

The embarrassment and anger made it hard for her to come forward, she said. She reported the attack to police in late August.

In an AP interview, Greene-Placentia choked up while explaining that she has had to accept the vulnerable position the attack put her in. “I’ve always considered myself a very strong person, and I hate that somebody used their physical strength to take that,” she said.

The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they grant permission, which Greene-Placentia has done.