OAN’s Stephanie Stahl
4:01 PM – Friday, November 10, 2023
A man from Nebraska has been arrested for purportedly assaulting former Senator Martha McSally (R-AZ) during her jog along the Missouri River, as reported by the Council Bluffs, Iowa, Police Department.
The suspect, identified as Dominic Henton, 25, from Papillion, faces one charge of assault with intent to commit sexual abuse.
McSally shared details of the ordeal in a video posted on Instagram.
“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.
Despite McSally chasing after the assailant, he still managed to outrun her and escape.
In 2019, the former Republican senator spoke out about being a survivor of rape during her time in the Air Force. McSally mentioned that this latest assault brought back memories of past trauma but she emphasized her determination to reclaim her power back.
“I know it’s tapped into a nerve of other sexual abuse and assault that I’ve been through in the past – which I’ve healed from as much as I feel can be done, but in this case, I felt like I took my power back,” McSally said.
McSally, the first female pilot in the Air Force to fly in combat after the lifting of the ban on women, was appointed to the late Senator John McCain’s seat after a close defeat in the 2018 Senate race to Democrat Kyrsten Sinema.
Council Bluffs police released photos showing the man approaching McSally on a pedestrian bridge at Ton Hanafan River’s Edge Park in Iowa. Henton was apprehended in Omaha and will now undergo extradition proceedings to Council Bluffs.
Surveillance footage and tips from employees at a nearby restaurant, where the suspect was recognized through a credit card transaction, played crucial roles in identifying and arresting Henton.
He is currently held without bond at the Douglas County Correctional Center in Nebraska.
McSally, who retired as a colonel in the US Air Force, expressed her resolve to confront and heal from past traumatic incidents.
Anyone affected by sexual assault, whether it happened to you or someone you care about, can find support from online.rainn.org. You can also call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673) to be connected with someone over the phone who can help.
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