New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy Joins #MeToo Movement
MORRISTOWN, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) – New Jersey's new First Lady publicly joined the #MeToo movement Saturday.
Following a Women's March in Morristown, Tammy Murphy silenced the crowd gathered on Morristown Green as she opened up about being the victim of sexual violence while she was a sophomore at the University of Virginia.
She said she was walking along a path when a man grabbed her and pulled her into the bushes.
Though she could see people in the distance through a window at a party nearby, Murphy said no one could hear her screams.
Read More: Tens Of Thousands Take To Streets For Women's March On New York City
The man tried to take her clothes off and attempted to put a crab apple in her mouth to silence her, she said. But she bit his hand and fled, half-dressed, to a nearby fraternity house, where students called police.
Citing the "attitudes of the time," Murphy said her assailant never faced justice. However, she said he was later convicted for another crime.
"Until today, only a few have heard my story," Murphy told the hushed crowd of several thousand people. "Now, you all know. I tell this today not for me, but really for all of you. Surely, among us is a woman who has been silent about her own story."
The rally was among several in New Jersey and dozens that were staged nationwide Saturday. The activists were hoping to create an enduring political movement that will elect more women to government office.
Many marchers in Morristown wore pink cat-ear hats as a show of solidarity, while others carried signs stating opposition to President Donald Trump and his policies. The scene was similar at rallies in Leonia, Monroe and Ocean City.
They come a year after women rallied in cities across the United States, many saying they hoped to send a message to the Republican president about equality and other causes. Afterward, a wave of women decided to run for elected office, and the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct became a cultural phenomenon.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
