Nebraska Republican Sen. Julie Slama said she was “shocked” when Donald Trump-approved Gov. Charles Herbster said he raised his hand “to my dress” at a Republican dinner.
Slama described in detail what she described as an “attack” in 2019 in an interview Thursday, the day Nebraska Examiner said she and seven other women accused the Republican businessman of touching them.
“As … I walked to my table, I felt a hand rise in my skirt, lift my dress, and Charles Herbster’s hand,” Slama said in an interview with News Radio KFAB in Omaha. “I was shocked. I was tired. It’s one of the most traumatic things I’ve ever been through. “
Slama added: “I watched five minutes later he grab the buttocks of another young woman … This was witnessed by several people at the event.”
Slama spoke of the frightening, “huge difference in power” in this situation between her, then a newly appointed 22-year-old state senator and “one of the largest donors to the Republican Party of Nebraska.”
Herbster has denied all allegations of “slanderous fake news” and is now threatening to sue to defend his reputation. He indicated the time of the accusations only weeks before the main suspect.
The inspector confirmed six of the eight accusations with witnesses, the newspaper writes. All of the alleged incidents occurred between 2017 and this year and involved teenagers to women in their 20s, according to Examiner.
All 13 female U.S. senators in the Nebraska legislature, including five Republicans, issued a statement Thursday condemning “very credible, confirmed allegations.”
“Sexual violence is disgusting and harmful,” the statement added. “It’s not a matter of politics – it’s a matter of character and basic human decency.” Herbster’s actions “make him unfit to serve,” the statement said.
Herbster, owner and CEO of the Conklin Company and sometimes a beauty pageant judge, is currently a favorite in the Nebraska governor’s race, although he has never held a political position. He reportedly gave $ 1.3 million to Trump’s campaigns and attended a rally on January 6, 2021 in front of the Capitol with members of Trump’s inner circle.
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Donald Trump Jr. campaigned with Herbster in Nebraska earlier this week.
Trump hailed Herbster, who is considered a newborn Christian, as “a huge supporter of America in the first place.”
The accusations against Herbster are unlikely to shake Trump’s approval. Trump has been accused by dozens of women of sexual misconduct. He was also recorded boasting that he “grabbed” women “for the pussy.”
The former Omaha mayor reportedly responded to the accusations by saying he wanted to put Straw in the witness box to ask her what she was wearing when she was allegedly groped. So Slama showed him – and stressed to KFAB that “clothes are not equivalent to consent”.
Under Nebraska law, touching a person inappropriately without the consent of the outside of their clothing constitutes third-degree sexual abuse.
The primary election for gubernatorial and vice-governor candidates will be held on May 10. The winner of the Republican primary was expected to win the general election in November.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
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