Something for Bob Francis to chat about next time he’s at the dentist.
If this holds up, then it would appear that 2 out of the 3 Dem 2020 front runners, Bernie Sanders and Beto O’Rourke, have a #MeToo problem. And the third, Joe Biden, is a walking #MeToo problem.
Had this happened to a Republican presidential contender, it would be front page news and there would be reporters huddled around the candidate demanding answers. But since it involves a Democrat 2020er, the revelation gets buried somewhere in paragraph six.
According to the complaint, on Oct. 24, 2015, Jones invited Jane Doe to dinner, where she says he ordered a large quantity of drinks. She said that he then took her back to his home, poured more drinks, and that her memory became foggy about the rest of the night. She said she sent a series of text messages to a friend that night including, “Help,” “I’m want t[sic] to go home,” and “I’m ready to cry,” and told the friend she was with the intern coordinator but did not know where she was.
The woman said she remembered Jones engaging in sexual activity with her, including forcing her to perform oral sex. In the complaint, she said she did not consent to any sexual activity. The next morning, she said she woke up naked in Jones’ bed “with his arms and legs around her,” and left. She said she experienced pain in her vagina and elsewhere on her body.
Jane Doe said later that day she texted Jones to ask what happened, and he replied, “Nothing. You threw up everywhere. That’s it.” When she asked why she was naked, he told her to call him. Jane Doe says that he told her that he took off her clothes and put her in the shower, and he denied they had sex.
Jane Doe says she went to a hospital and had a sexual assault exam. She later reported the alleged assault to the Metropolitan Police Department in DC — the lawsuit does not specify when — and, according to the lawsuit, investigators found sperm on the pants she was wearing the night she was with Jones, but couldn’t get a “sufficient DNA profile.” Police got a search warrant for Jones’ DNA and found his DNA on Jane Doe’s breast, and concluded he could not “be excluded” as the source of DNA on her neck, according to the complaint.
Jones was the Political Outreach Director for Beto O’Rourke’s Senate campaign.
Jones did not return requests for comment. After leaving the CBCF in late 2015, he continued to work in Democratic politics and recently served as the regional political director for former Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s Senate campaign. Chris Evans, a spokesperson for the O’Rourke campaign, said in an email to BuzzFeed News, “The Beto for Texas campaign was absolutely not aware of these allegations until today and no longer has a relationship with Damien Jones.”
A site that appears to be Damien’s has the following bio.
An award-winning leader, Damien cut his teeth as a grassroots activist in Houston as co-founder of the civil rights group Houston Justice and evolved into a national advocate for liberty and justice for all communities.
As Environmental Justice Advocate for the Union of Concerned Scientists, Damien led campaigns related to criminal justice reform, climate justice, and most recently helped organize over 200 HBCU leaders’ historic involvement in the 2017 People’s Climate March. He previously served as program coordinator of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Leadership Institute where he prepared the next generation to take its place in the fields of community service and policy development and increased the pool of young African American leaders in public service careers and public policy positions. Damien most recently served as Political Outreach Director for Congressman Beto O’Rourke’s U.S. Senate campaign.
The site also humbly describes Jones as “one of the leading intellectual voices in America.”
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