Tina Forte, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-N.Y.) Republican opponent for New York’s 14th District, is being sued for damages after her pit bull attacked her neighbor’s child.
Plaintiffs allege that in February 2023, Forte’s dog, named Brownie, jumped the fence separating the properties in Nanuet, New York, and went after a young child playing in the backyard.
The pit bull allegedly bit the child on her face and body, inflicting “serious physical injuries.”
The plaintiffs also allege that the defendants, Tina Forte (referred to in legal documentation by her married name, Tina Galdieri) and her husband Joseph Galdieri Sr., were negligent in controlling the pit bull.
They claim that Forte’s dog had “vicious propensities” and was accustomed to biting and attacking people.
The case is currently pending trial in Rockland County Supreme and County Court.
In text messages requested by the plaintiffs and recently entered into the court record, Forte and her neighbor discuss the child’s injuries, with the child’s mother stating her daughter was hospitalized overnight and “feels ugly” following the dog attack.
In response, Forte said that she had "no words" and was praying for the family.
In the suit, they claim the dog previously bit an unnamed party at the defendant's house, and also "aggressively chased numerous individuals."
Having gained a first-time endorsement from the Bronx Conservative Party and the Bronx GOP, Forte brings renewed confidence to her second congressional bid this November. Despite this, polls still suggest an overwhelming victory for Ocasio-Cortez.
Forte previously ran and lost against Ocasio-Cortez in 2022.
A small business owner, born and raised in Throggs Neck, New York, Forte has been photographed with Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and has pushed popular QAnon slogans.
She was also present at the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Forte does not identify herself as far-right and said she did not know phrases she used invoked QAnon.
“The government has no right to tell us what we can and what we can’t do. [During COVID], half the things they were forcing upon us were debunked afterwards,” Forte said in an interview with the Daily Dot. “So I don’t consider that far-right policy. I consider that standing up for what I believed in the Constitution.”
A self-proclaimed “Bronx girl,” Forte describes herself as a “fighter.”
“I don’t hide nothing. I don’t mince words. I’m a very in-your-face type of person,” Forte said.
Forte hopes to capitalize on New York’s recent rightward turn after longtime blue seats flipped red in 2022.
When her opponent is absent from town halls in the district, Forte poses next to empty seats featuring Ocasio-Cortez’s name, implying she’s more focused on her national profile.
She's also used Trumpian slogans such as “Fire AOC” and “Make AOC Bartend Again.”
On social media, Forte shared stunts like having someone stand in a chicken costume outside Ocasio-Cortez’s offices, with a sign reading “Don’t be a chicken. Debate Tina Forte!”
When asked about her opponent, Forte lamented Ocasio-Cortez’s refusal to debate her.
The Democrat has yet to publicly acknowledge Forte as a challenger.
“I’m trolling her because she won’t debate me. I have signs that say ‘fire AOC’ all over the district,” she said. “AOC is nowhere to be found. I want her to debate me.”
Forte says she is running as a “law and order” candidate who wants to “take the cuffs off the police and put them back on criminals.”
Despite her anti-crime policies, Forte is still actively fighting her own civil case.
According to the lawsuit, the child suffered permanent injuries to her face, head, body, and limbs, as well as her nervous and “psychic systems.” Per the lawsuit, the child suffered and still suffers from severe mental and physical pain.
The plaintiffs allege that Forte and her husband failed to properly muzzle or restrain their dog, and didn’t sufficiently warn their neighbors about the danger the dog presented.
Both Forte and her husband deny all charges. Forte's team did not respond to questions about the case. An attorney for the plaintiffs declined to comment to the Daily Dot.
In an April post on Facebook, she shared an image of a sign that said “My neighbor is a Karen.”
“True Fukin story,” she wrote, implying she bought the sign. “Cant wait till it comes so I can put it up on my big beautiful front lawn”
According to texts between Forte and the plantiff, the pit bull involved in the attack, Brownie, has been rehomed.
Despite Forte’s tough-on-crime stance, the dog attack suit isn’t the only legal issue she’s had to contend with.
In 2019, Forte’s son, Joseph Galdieri Jr., was arrested for attempted trafficking. Authorties alleged that he orchestrated the delivery of marijuana worth $150,000 at the family’s beverage distribution warehouse in the Bronx. During this arrest, he was also found in possession of a firearm illegally.
Forte’s husband, Joseph Galdieri Sr., pled guilty to drug conspiracy after he was seen on camera handing a co-conspirator a bag of cash related to his son’s drug operation.
The attempted trafficking took place at the family’s drinks distribution business, which Forte has a stake in.
Galdieri Jr. was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison. Galdieri Sr. received a sentence of time served with two years probation and was forced to pay $20,000 in civil forfeiture.
When asked about her family’s criminal records, Forte admitted her son’s and husband’s charges but stressed that both had served their time and moved on from the incidents.
The pit bull case isn’t Forte’s only run-in with the courts concerning animals she owns, though.
In 2014, an animal hospital sued Forte for failing to pay medical bills for one of her dogs. Forte was forced to pay $3,956 after accruing interest on the initial debt of $2,923.
Forte was also once sued after failing to pay fees from divorce lawyers and ordered to pony up $50,380 by Rockland County Court.
Despite Ocasio-Cortez winning the seat by a landslide in previous cycles, Forte says it’s worth giving Republicans a chance.
“[Voters] have nothing to lose—two to three years. If you don’t like what I do, then you can fire me,” she said.
“We need to get our state back, our city back, our Bronx back. We need our country back.”
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