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Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf lashed out Wednesday after reports that his administration’s health secretary was allegedly mocked at a weekend fair.
The fair in Bloomsburg, Columbia County, included a dunk tank attraction whose target was someone impersonating Dr. Rachel Levine, who leads the state’s coronavirus response, among other health initiatives.
Levine, 63, is among a small group of openly transgender government officials in the U.S.
“Hate has no place in Pennsylvania,” Wolf wrote in response to reports about the fair incident.
![Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, left, lashed out this week after Health Secretary Rachel Levine was mocked at a weekend fair in Columbia County.](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2020/06/1200/675/Tom-Wolf-Rachel-Levine-Gov-Office-FOX.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, left, lashed out this week after Health Secretary Rachel Levine was mocked at a weekend fair in Columbia County.
In a Twitter message Wednesday, Wolf described the dunk tank situation as “transphobic” behavior and defended Levine, claiming she has been a target of “relentless” attacks despite her work qualifications.
“I want to talk about the transphobic incident involving the Bloomsburg Fair,” Wolf wrote, beginning a Twitter thread. “This is the latest in a relentless series of vile slurs directed at Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine – a highly skilled and accomplished member of my administration.”
Following the fair, its operator, the Bloomsburg Fair Association, posted a social media message, claiming the Levine impersonator was “a hit and raised a lot of money for the local fire companies,” according to KDKA-TV of Pittsburgh.
The person working inside the dunk tank was later identified as Main Township Fire Chief David Broadt, who told the Press Enterprise of Bloomsburg he merely put on a blonde wig, “going for a Marilyn Monroe look,” but played along after members of the crowd started saying he resembled Levine.
Others speaking out against the incident included U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., and state Rep. Brian Sims of Philadelphia, an LGBTQ activist.
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“The members of the Pennsylvania transgender community are our neighbors and friends. Treat them that way,” Casey wrote on Twitter on Monday.
“I can’t begin to say how disgusted I am with the transphobia that occurred at, and was subsequently promoted by, the @BloomsburgFair today,” Sims wrote.
Levine addressed the matter herself during a news conference Tuesday, Pittsburgh’s KDKA-TV reported.
“My only reaction is that I am going to stay — no matter what happens — laser-focused on protecting the public health in Pennsylvania,” she said.