The mother of the teen girls who Pennsylvania state Rep. Brian Sims bullied last month told Fox News that she was “concerned” for her daughters during the interaction.
Ashley Garecht spoke to Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Tuesday about the now-viral exchange between the pro-abortion Democrat and her family.
Several weeks ago, Sims posted a video of Garecht, her daughters and one of their friends online. In it, he offered his viewers $100 to identify the three girls.
“What we’ve got here is a bunch of … pseudo Christian protesters who’ve been out here shaming young girls for being here. So, here’s the deal, I’ve got $100 to anybody who will identify these three, and I will donate to Planned Parenthood,” Sims said in the video.
His requests suggest that Sims, a state representative, may have been trying to intimidate the pro-life teens through doxxing, a practice where a person’s name and contact information are posted publicly online usually to encourage harassment.
Garecht told Carlson that her daughters are 13 and 15, and their friend is 15.
“I was concerned for my girls,” she said. “I was genuinely trying to enter into just a dialogue with [Sims] to try to bring the situation, calm it down a little bit and say to him on film, we are really here just praying for these women and babies.”
She said they went to the Planned Parenthood abortion facility in Philadelphia to pray on April 18. She said they did not go to protest, but to pray “for these women and babies.”
Here’s more from the report:
Garecht said Sims approached them “aggressively,” asked why they were protesting abortion and then returned with a cell phone to record.
Garecht told Carlson she had no intention of getting involved in an altercation and was “concerned” when Sims demanded to know the names of her daughters. She said they were at the clinic only with “peaceful, prayerful intent.”
“When I realized he was not going to enter into any kind of productive dialogue, I thought we will just continue our exit and we will just leave,” she said.
SIGN THE PETITION: Rep. Brian Sims Should Resign for Harassing Pro-Life Women
Sims has not apologized to the family or the other woman whom he filmed and publicly harassed last week outside the same abortion facility.
His actions may have violated consent and cyberbullying laws. The Philadelphia police and district attorney’s office said they are looking into the incident.
On Tuesday, Republican Party of Pennsylvania sent a letter to U.S. Attorney William McSwain, state Attorney General Josh Shapiro and Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner urging that Sims be investigated.
Sims also released a statement late Tuesday where he did not apologize for his behavior. Instead, he chose to attack pro-life advocates even more by claiming they “slur” and “attack” Planned Parenthood patients.
He spent plenty of time blaming, without proof or evidence, pro-life advocates who he claims are harassing abortion patients by praying at the Planned Parenthood abortion center near where he lives. But he did not offer any apology for his own, well-document bullying.
Sims has been under fire since he posted a video of himself berating a pro-life sidewalk counselor as she was praying alone in Philadelphia.
Several leading pro-life groups and activists are planning a rally on Friday at the Planned Parenthood abortion facility in Philadelphia where Sims filmed himself twice harassing and bullying pro-life women.
A LifeNews petition calling for Sims’ resignation amassed more than 8,000 signatures in less than two days.
As far as LifeNews can tell, no Democratic leaders have condemned Sims’ behavior thus far. One group, the Temple University Democrats club, tweeted that it was “proud” of Sims.
The Planned Parenthood abortion clinic where Sims harassed women has failed 13 of its 23 safety inspections.
