White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway says she was physically assaulted by ‘unhinged’ woman
White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway says she was physically assaulted by an ‘unhinged’ woman while she was with her daughter.
White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway says she was physically assaulted by a woman at a Washington, D.C.-area restaurant last year while with her middle-school-aged daughter.
A 63-year-old woman named Mary Elizabeth Inabinett has been charged with second-degree assault and disorderly conduct, according to the Associated Press, citing court records.
“I was assaulted in a restaurant,” Conway told CNN in an interview that aired on Friday. “That person has to go to court soon.”
Conway, White House counselor, revealed the alleged October incident took place while she was with her daughter and a group of her friends for a birthday celebration.
“I was standing next to my daughter and many of her friends at dinner … somebody was grabbing me from behind, grabbed my arms and was shaking me,” Conway said. “I thought maybe somebody was hugging me … as I turned around, it just felt weird.”
Conway told CNN’s Dana Bash that it felt “aggressive” before elaborating on the frightening encounter with a stranger.
“I turned around and the woman had grabbed my hand. She was unhinged, she was out of control. I don’t even know how to explain her to you… her whole face was terror and anger."
VIDEO SHOWS DHS BOSS KIRSTJEN NIELSEN BEING HECKLED, HARASSED AT DC RESTAURANT
“I turned around and the woman had grabbed my hand. She was unhinged, she was out of control. I don’t even know how to explain her to you … her whole face was terror and anger.”
Bash noted that Conway didn’t publicly speak about the incident when it occurred because of tensions surrounding the confirmation of then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Conway told Bash that her attacker “ought to pay” for the incident. Inabinett’s trial is scheduled to start on March 29, according to the AP.
Through an attorney, Inabinett has denied the incident.
“She has no right to touch anybody,” Conway said.
Last year, Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters famously encouraged Trump’s critics to harass members of his administration in public.
“They’re not going to be able to go to a restaurant, they’re not going to be able to stop at a gas station, they’re not going to be able to shop at a department store,” Waters said. “The people are going to turn on them, they’re going to protest, they’re going to absolutely harass them.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and Press Secretary Sarah Sanders are among the members of Trump’s inner circle who have been confronted at restaurants.
Sanders was once asked to leave a restaurant in Virginia after the co-owner said it “has certain standards that I feel it has to uphold, such as honesty, and compassion, and cooperation.”
Fox News’ Nicole Darrah contributed to this report.
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