A feminine Utah lawmaker working for US Congress allegedly made aggressive and undesirable sexual advances on 4 girls — with one accuser claiming she was choked and one other saying an “extremely embarrassing” incident left them in tears.
Salt Lake Metropolis Councilwoman Eva Lopez Chavez allegedly accosted the ladies between 2019 and 2022, along with her accusers describing her as relentless and refusing to take no for a solution, the Salt Lake Tribune reported Wednesday.
The 4 accusers embody a state senator, a state consultant, a fellow councilwoman and a former political aide. The alleged encounters all occurred earlier than Chavez Lopez assumed her present workplace, in line with the Tribune.
Lopez Chavez — a Democratic Gen Z-er in search of to symbolize Utah’s 1st District in Washington DC — has denied the claims outright, saying they “by no means occurred” and that she was “shocked by the allegations,” and even providing to endure a lie detector take a look at to exhibit her innocence.
“She stands able to undergo a polygraph take a look at relating to these varied allegations if requested,” her legal professional, Greg Skordas, instructed the Tribune. “She is ready to deal with them in any discussion board.”
One of many claims allegedly occurred in Sept. 2022, when Lopez Chavez went to a marriage afterparty with members of town council — together with Councilwoman Victoria Petro.
Petro claimed Lopez Chavez grabbed her throat on the get together, after which “pushed me again in opposition to a pillar in order that my again was in opposition to the wall and instructed me, ‘The one purpose I nonetheless f–ok males is as a result of a lady hasn’t proven me what I really need.’”
“If a person had performed that to me, would there be a query if it was assault or not?” Petro instructed the Tribune.
Petro allegedly reported the incident after the get together to Council Chair Alejandro Puy, who recalled her being “shocked at what had occurred.”
Lopez Chavez allegedly instructed Petro to cease telling individuals concerning the incident after she received her metropolis council election in 2023.
Her legal professional claimed images and video from the marriage afterparty refuted Petros’ allegations — explaining the 2 appeared to be getting alongside wonderful within the photos — and that “nothing inappropriate occurred and nobody ever expressed any concern about Eva’s conduct.”
The opposite alleged incident occurred two months later in Nov. 2022 at a celebration, the place State Sen. Jen Plumb (D-Salt Lake Metropolis) claimed Lopez Chavez shoved her right into a wall and groped her.
“It completely was a sexual advance. She leaned into me, grabbed onto my a–, acquired up in my face and mentioned in my ear, ‘You’re certain you’re straight?’” Plumb claimed. “I simply pushed her away. Come on. Knock it off.”
“I’d not be comfy with somebody doing that to my daughter, to my mother, my finest pals,” she added. “I’m not comfy with it being brushed away anymore.”
The identical 12 months, Democratic State Rep. Hoang Nguyen claimed she was driving Lopez Chavez house from an occasion when the councilwoman requested to tug over.
“Subsequent factor I do know she has leaned over and she or he’s on prime of me, holding my shoulders down,” Nguyen instructed the Tribune. “I mentioned, ‘What are you doing?’ And she or he mentioned, ‘Kiss me,’” Nguyen mentioned. “She mentioned, ‘I’m not going to get off you till you kiss me.’ I gave her a peck and she or he acquired off.”
Lopez Chavez’s legal professional additionally refuted that story, explaining she and Nguyen have had quite a few pleasant textual content messages with one another since the supposed incident.
The primary alleged incident occurred in 2019, when former mayoral marketing campaign aide Maggie Regier mentioned Lopez Chavez was being extraordinarily “flirty” at a fundraising occasion.
Regier tried to politely get out of the state of affairs, however Lopez Chavez allegedly took Regier “right into a literal nook within the hallway,” pinned them to a wall and wouldn’t allow them to go away. It supposedly took a pal to step in and pull Lopez Chavez away, the Tribune reported.
However the advances allegedly continued on the dance ground, with one other pal in the end stepping between Lopez Chavez and Regier and saying ‘Depart Maggie alone,’” Regier claimed.
Regier allegedly reported the incident to the marketing campaign supervisor, Corey Cronin, who recalled the aide being delivered to tears recounting it. Regier then posted concerning the incident on social media in 2023 as Lopez Chavez was working for Metropolis Council, calling it “harassment.”
“It made me really feel extremely unsafe,” Regier wrote, in line with the Tribune.
Lopez Chavez’s legal professional denied that she ever had to be pulled away from Regier, explaining a pal merely instructed her Regier needed to be left alone and that the councilwoman complied.
The allegations emerged publicly after Lopez Chavez spoke out in opposition to misogynistic feedback one among her congressional race opponents, Nate Blouin, made on-line about girls and sexual assault about 10 years in the past.
Lopez Chavez referred to as for Blouin to drop out of the race after the posts emerged earlier in April, and referred to as herself a sexual assault survivor.
That assertion is a part of what spurned her accusers to come back ahead, in line with the Tribune.
It stays unclear how the Salt Lake Metropolis Council will deal with the allegations, however Chairman Puy instructed the Tribune that in February he ordered a evaluate of the council’s inner insurance policies due to claims he’d heard about Lopez Chavez’s habits.
Lopez Chavez’s legal professional couldn’t be reached for remark by The Submit by the point of publication.
