A protester who said she was sexually assaulted approached Senator Jeff Flake in an elevator Friday after he released a statement saying he would be voting in favor of Brett Kavanaugh for a seat on the Supreme Court.
The unidentified woman could be heard shouting at Flake, R-Ariz., during a CNN live shot before the Senate Judiciary Committee moved toward a vote on Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court Friday morning. Flake had previously been undecided.
“You’re telling me that my assault doesn’t matter,” a woman, audibly emotional, can be heard telling Flake.
“Don’t look away from me,” the woman can be heard saying. “Look at me and tell me that it doesn’t matter what happened to me.”
The woman continues to criticize Flake, saying he is allowing attackers to occupy positions of power.
“Thank you,” Flake said. “I need to get to the hearing. You will hear more from me.”
The Center for Popular Democracy later told USA TODAY the woman is Ana Maria Archila, co-executive of the liberal nonprofit advocacy group.
“Earlier this week, I shared my survivor story for the first time in front of Senator Jeff Flake’s office … By announcing he will vote “yes” on Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination, Flake showed us that he does not care about our truths and does not care about women,” Archila said in a statement.
In the hearing Friday, Flake said, “our system of justice affords a presumption of innocence to the accused, absent corroborating evidence. That is what binds us to the rule of law.”
The Republican-led committee announced it would vote on Kavanaugh by 1:30 p.m. ET and most of the panel’s Democrats walked out in protest.
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