Oct 23, 2008 10:25 pm US/Eastern
Pittsburgh Police: McCain Worker Robbed, Attacked
PITTSBURGH, Pa. (CBS) ―
-
-
According to police, the 20-year-old woman said she was robbed at an ATM at the corner of Liberty Avenue and Pearl Street in the Bloomfield area around 9 p.m. Wednesday after leaving a Republican phone bank. (File)
Scott Olson/Getty Images
She calls it a political attack -- a McCain campaign volunteer says she was attacked in Bloomfield.
Ashley Todd, 20, claims it all happened because she supports Sen. John McCain in the presidential race.
Todd claims she was robbed at knife point then roughed up.
Patrick Graham, the president of College Republicans in Pittsburgh, told CBS station KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh that Todd works for the National College Republican Committee.
She's been in Pittsburgh about a week.
Graham said Todd was on her way to meeting, when she reported robbery and assault took place.
"It's a disgusting act of violence," said Graham, "almost like a hate crime, because she was basically attacked because solely because of her political belief, and no other reason."
Todd is a 20-year old Texas woman, a volunteer for the McCain-Palin campaign, who told police she was robbed and attacked by a man in Bloomfield.
A police report states that Todd said the incident occurred around 9 p.m. Wednesday night near an ATM.
Todd said she made her ATM withdrawal and was approached from behind by a man who put a knife to her neck and demanded money.
She said she gave him $60 and managed to step away from the robber.
But, then Todd claimed the mugger spotted a McCain sticker on her car, and became angry.
She said she was punched in the back of the head, knocked to the ground and the man etched the letter "b" on the right side of her face.
Among other things, police are checking security cameras in the neighborhood to see what, if anything, they may have recorded.
A photo obtained by the Drudge Report website showed Todd after the alleged assault.
However, KDKA-TV could not verify the authenticity of the photo.
Pittsburgh Police did not take a photo of the woman.
The McCain-Palin campaign released a statement that said, in part, they were shaken up by the incident – calling it sick and disgusting.
A spokesman confirmed both McCain and Palin called Todd to express their concern.
An Obama-Biden campaign statement said: "Our thoughts and prayers are with the young woman, for her to make a speedy recover... and we hope that the person who perpetrated this crime is swiftly apprehended, and brought to justice."
Todd said she wasn't ready yet to talk publicly about what happened but she may have something to say on Friday.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
