ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A South Florida lawmaker is accusing a fellow Democratic legislator of bullying her at a meeting of party leaders, but the other lawmaker says the exchange is being mischaracterized.
Florida Rep. Anika Omphroy on Monday wrote a letter to the Florida House speaker saying that Rep. Carlos Smith lashed out at her with “verbal assaults.”
Jose Oliva, the Republican House speaker, referred the matter for an investigation.
But Smith tweeted that the details in Omphroy’s letter are false. The central Florida lawmaker says they had a tense conversation, but he is stunned and confused by her letter.
.@RepOmphroy and I agree that we had a tense conversation about an important issue to both of us, but the details in her letter are simply false + did not occur. I walked away from the exchange, which happened in a public space in front of multiple elected officials with....1/3
— Rep. Carlos G Smith (@CarlosGSmith) February 11, 2019
A witness, Rep. Anna Eskamani, says the encounter happened Saturday after Omphroy spoke out against a resolution encouraging broader financial disclosures.
Omphroy didn’t respond to a call and email to her office.
Florida representative claims she was bullied, threatened by another representative
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - State rep. Anika Omphroy is calling for disciplinary action after she was allegedly threatened, bullied, and verbally assaulted by Rep. Carlos Smith.
Rep. Anika Omphroy of District 95 claims on Feb. 9 she was threatened, bullied, and verbally assaulted by Representative Carlos Smith.
A source told WTXL that it happened during a Florida Democrat meeting. WTXL obtained a copy of the letter Omphroy sent to Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, Jose Oliva, calling on him to address the issue.
Omphroy said Smith approached her in a threatening and aggressive manner while she was sitting at a table with others.
She stated she was uncomfortable as Smith kneeled directly in front of her legs, at which point she said she was forced to readjust herself because she was wearing a dress and leggings.
According to Omphroy, Smith "pounded his hand" on the table and "lashed out" at her with a "barrage of offensive verbal assaults, and a display of blatant aggression." She also claimed he kept her from moving away due to his "strategic body placement."
Omphroy claims others have told her that this is a normal behavior pattern for Smith.
