Former Arizona Sen. Martha McSally mentioned she was sexually assaulted whereas jogging alongside the Missouri River in Iowa on Wednesday.
McSally — who has brazenly spoken about her expertise of being raped whereas serving within the Air Pressure — detailed the terrifying incident in an Instagram submit.
The 57-year-old Republican mentioned she was alongside the river in Council Bluffs by the Nebraska border when a person all of the sudden jumped out and grabbed her.
“A person got here up behind me, and he engulfed me in a bear hug, and he molested and fondled me till I fought him off,” McSally mentioned within the video.
She famous that she was in Iowa as a result of she was scheduled to provide a speech in Omaha about braveness.
“I used to be in a fight-flight-or-freeze, and I selected to battle,” she continued. “I ran after him, I threw my water bottle at him, and I chased him into the comb, the place he was then hiding as I referred to as 911 and waited for the police to come back. I don’t suppose they discovered him, and I’m OK.”
The assault occurred round 10:53 a.m. at Haffan River’s Edge Park on a service highway close to the I-480 underpass, based on Council Bluffs Police.
When police arrived, they had been unable to find the suspect, who fled. He was described as a “stocky” male between the ages of 25 and 40.
McSally mentioned she “nonetheless has quite a bit to course of” after the scary assault.
“I’ll try this in time,” she mentioned. “On this case, I felt like I took my energy again. He tried to take energy from me, however I turned it on him, and he was working from me as a substitute of the opposite approach round.”
McSally revealed that she had been raped by a superior officer whereas within the Air Pressure — the place she served for greater than twenty years — at a 2019 senate listening to on sexual assaults within the navy.
She mentioned on the time she felt compelled to share her expertise and the way it was dealt with after “years of silence.”
McSally was elected to the Home of Representatives in 2014. After dropping a Senate bid to Democrat Krysten Sinema in 2018, she was appointed to the Senate by Gov. Doug Ducey after the resignation of Sen. John Kyl.
She was subsequently defeated in a 2020 particular election by Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly.