Arizonan and former U.S. Senator Martha McSally says she was sexually assaulted while jogging on Thursday morning. Immediately after the attack, McSally posted a video to the social media site Instagram describing the ordeal.
According to her account, she was running along the bank of the Missouri River in Iowa, having been in the state to give a speech on courage. At approximately 10:53 AM, a man jumped out and grabbed her. A physical altercation ensued in which she was groped and fondled. The man eventually retreated into the woods.
Here’s some of what she said about the attack in her video.
“A man came up behind me, and he engulfed me in a bear hug, and he molested and fondled me until I fought him off,” McSally said in the video.
She noted that she was in Iowa because she was scheduled to give a speech in Omaha about courage.
“I was in a fight-flight-or-freeze, and I chose to fight,” she continued. “I ran after him, I threw my water bottle at him, and I chased him into the brush, where he was then hiding as I called 911 and waited for the police to come. I don’t think they found him, and I’m OK.”
After the attack, McSally called 911 and was met by police. The suspect is described as being “stocky” and between the ages of 25 and 40. The search for him is ongoing.
This was not McSally’s first experience with sexual assault and rape. Some years prior to this latest incident, the former senator and congresswoman shared publicly that she had been raped by a superior officer while serving in the U.S. Air Force.
This is a developing story.
