Two women working for Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaigns say they faced sexual harassment from fellow campaign workers, according to a new report.
Lilian Adams, a 19-year-old who worked for Clinton, and Zoey Jordan Salsbury, an 18-year-old who worked for Sanders, told HuffPost that they were sexually harassed while working for the candidates and felt the campaigns did not address their accusations well. Both Adams and Salsbury asked for the names of their alleged harassers to be withheld, citing safety and professional concerns.
Adams joined the Clinton campaign in 2015 and eventually worked with the Colorado Democratic Party as a paid organizer, according to the news outlet. She says she faced harassment for “months” while working in the state from a man who was a fellow organizer.
“He made multiple comments about my body, told people we were dating, would constantly try to get me to drink (I was 19), try to force me into situations where we were alone, encouraged me not to wear bras, etc.,” Adams told HuffPost.
The man was fired by the campaign in Colorado after Adams reached out to her supervisor for a second time, according to the report, but eventually was rehired to work for the Clinton campaign in a different state.
Clinton aides did not talk to HuffPost when contacted.
Salsbury worked as the president of American University Students for Bernie, a volunteer position, in October 2015. She told HuffPost that her main point of contact for Sanders’ campaign was an intern in Washington D.C. who made unwanted advances toward her.
Salsbury said she felt like there was no accountability in the campaign and was eventually contacted by the Sanders campaign after she posted about her experience on social media, HuffPost reports. Eventually, a lawyer reached out to her on behalf of the campaign.
“It firmly felt like the kind of call you make when you’re trying to feel out if someone has the interest and/or standing to bring a lawsuit,” she told HuffPo.
In a statement, Sanders told HuffPost he does not tolerate sexual harassment in his Senate office or campaign.
You can read all of HuffPost’s story here.
