Politics

Hours later, the alleged victim’s husband was still waiting for her return. Worried, he’d searched the sports bar, but it was empty. Around 2 A.M., he texted her, saying, “Holy smokes lady . . . I don’t remember the last time you were socializing at nearly 2:00 am.” She responded oddly, typing, “Hahaha I know. I gotta make sure that fo”—dropping off mid-sentence. He responded, “Doing ok? My love? Worried about you.”

A few hours before dawn, the alleged victim returned to the hotel room that she was sharing with her husband and kids. She told police later that she couldn’t recall much of what had happened. But two days later she started to have frightening flashbacks and nightmares. She told police that she hazily recalled Hegseth taking her phone and blocking the door as she tried to leave. She recalled him on top of her, with his dog tags in her face. She recalled saying no a lot. Four days after the alleged assault, she went to a hospital and asked for a rape exam. She said that she thought someone might have slipped a drug into her drink and sexually assaulted her. She brought in the clothes she’d worn that night. According to the police report, she had developed an infection that could have resulted from a new sexual partner. She declined to name her alleged assailant. The nurse was legally required to report the incident to the police, who opened a criminal investigation. At that point, the alleged victim identified her assaulter as Hegseth.