A male off-duty Rhode Island police officer who was running for state Senate physically attacked his female political opponent at an abortion rights rally, she said.
Providence Police said Saturday that they have placed the cop, Jeann Lugo, on paid administrative leave as they launched a criminal investigation into Friday night’s alleged assault, which was captured on video.
Lugo, who was running for Senate District 29 as a Republican, dropped out of the race Saturday afternoon. “I will not be running for any office this fall,” he wrote on Twitter, before temporarily deactivating his account.
Jen Rourke, a progressive running for the same seat who identifies herself as a reproductive rights organizer, said that Lugo “violently attacked me” after her speech at the rally outside the state house in Providence following the Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.
“This is what it is to be a Black woman running for office. I won’t give up,” Rourke wrote in a tweet that included a snippet of video of the incident.
