White House counselor Kellyanne Conway on Friday revealed she was assaulted by a woman in a Bethesda, Maryland, restaurant late last year.
“Somebody was grabbing me from behind, grabbing my arms and was shaking me to the point where I felt maybe somebody was hugging me,” she said. “It just felt weird. It felt like that’s a little aggressive.”
Mrs. Conway spoke about the incident for the first time publicly in an interview with CNN, which released the clip Friday morning.
She described how she was at Uncle Julio’s, a Mexican restaurant, with her school-age daughter and her daughter’s friends when the woman grabbed her and began yelling at her. Mrs. Conway described the woman as “unhinged” and “out of control.”
“Her whole face was was terror and anger,” she said. “She was right here, and my daughter was right there. She ought to pay for that.”
Mrs. Conway said she called 911 at the time, but they arrived after the woman left the restaurant.
According to CNN, the woman, identified as Mary Elizabeth Inabinett, was charged with second-degree assault and disorderly conduct.
William Alden McDaniel Jr., who represents Ms. Inabinett, denied the allegations to CNN and said his client would plead not guilty.
“Ms. Inabinett saw Kellyanne Conway, a public figure, in a public place, and exercised her First Amendment right to express her personal opinions. She did not assault Ms. Conway. The facts at trial will show this to be true, and show Ms. Conway’s account to be false,” Mr. McDaniel said in a statement given to CNN.
Mrs. Conway said she didn’t tell President Trump about the incident until “long after” it happened.
“What he always says, ’Are you OK? Are you OK? Is your daughter OK? Are the other girls OK?’ ” she said, describing Mr. Trump’s reaction.
• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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