Twitter lit up with support for Jennifer-Ruth Green, the GOP midterm candidate running to unseat Democrat Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Ind in Indiana’s First Congressional District, after Politico outed her as a victim of sexual assault.
Adam Wren, a correspondent for Politico, wrote a wide-ranging profile of Green last week that included revelations obtained from Green’s military records that she was a victim of a sexual assault while serving in Iraq as a member of the U.S. Air Force. Despite several pleas from Green not to publish the previously undisclosed details of the assault, Politico moved forward with publication.
On Sunday, Green spoke with Fox News Digital exclusively about Politico’s decision. Following the interview, supporters took to social media to defend her.
“Disgraceful tactics,” Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., tweeted in response to the Politico report. “@JenRuthGreen has them running scared.”
“The decision by @mrvan4congress to illegally obtain & leak @JenRuthGreen’s military records knowing they would out her as a survivor of sexual assault is not only a shameful new low for politics & the media, it’s a horrific attack on survivors everywhere,” Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., wrote.
According to the Politico report, the documents “were obtained by a public records request and provided to Politico by a person outside the Mrvan campaign.” Green disputes the claim and says she believes they were obtained “illegally,” and shopped around by her Democratic opponent, Rep. Mrvan.
“I fully support my fellow AF veteran @JenRuthGreen,” Don Bacon, R-Na., wrote on Twitter, “What the opposition and media did here is victim-shaming, and it is despicable.”
“I had to re-read the story a few times, because I was so genuinely shocked by it. No woman should have to disclose and relive details about her sexual assault because the media and a political opponent decided to use it against her,” wrote Morgan Ortagus, a former State Department spokeswoman.
Green said that Politico’s decision to out her as a survivor or sexual assault, without her permission, made her feel victimized again.
“The reality of it is – like I said at one point in my life to my assailant, ‘No. Please stop. Don’t.’ – and he did what he wanted to do … This is the exact same situation all over again, all because there was a man who wanted some sort of gratification,” Green told Fox News Digital.
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Green, who believes the use of her military documents is a “politically motivated attempt to impact the upcoming election,” vowed not to back down from the fight.
“I’m going to stand up not only for me, but I’m going to stand up for every other survivor, every other vet, every other woman, because I’m not going to let Congressman Frank Mrvan do this, I’m not going to let Adam Wren do this, and I’m just done with it,” Green told Fox News Digital.
Fox News’ Kyle Morris contributed to this report.
