Pennsylvania pro-life leaders and state Republicans are demanding that Democratic state Rep. Brian Sims be criminally investigated for harassing several women and teenage girls outside a Philadelphia abortion facility this spring.
On Tuesday, Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chairman Val DiGiorgio sent a letter to U.S. Attorney William McSwain, state Attorney General Josh Shapiro and Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner urging an investigation.
“Rep. Brian Sim’s conduct shown in his video where harasses a peaceful protester was outrageous. We have now seen how far Rep. Sims will go as there is a second video where he solicits the identifying information of teenagers exercising their First Amendment rights as a means to further intimidate and/or harass them,” DiGiorgio said in a statement.
A spokesman for the Philadelphia district attorney told the AP that they are looking into the matter. CBS 3 in Philadelphia reported the police also are reviewing the incident.
DiGiorgio also urged the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, which has been silent about Sims, to hold him accountable. 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.
Sims 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.
In the video, Sims spends plenty of time blaming, without proof or evidence, pro-life advocates he claims are harassing abortion patients by praying at the Planned Parenthood abortion center near where he lives. He offers no apology for the harassment and bullying directed towards pro-life women and his multiple attempts to doxx them and subject them to potential violence.
Sims has been under fire since the state lawmaker posted a video of himself berating a pro-life sidewalk counselor in Philadelphia. A second video shows him appearing to call for the doxxing of several pro-life teenage girls.
A LifeNews petition calling for Sims’ resignation amassed more than 8,000 signatures in less than two days.
SIGN THE PETITION: Rep. Brian Sims Should Resign for Harassing Pro-Life Woman
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.
In the first video, which Sims posted publicly online last week, he appeared to be attempting to doxx the pro-life woman – he called her an “old white lady” – by asking his viewers for her name and address.
“Shame on you!” Sims said as the woman asked him to get his camera out of her face. “You have a problem protesting in public? Don’t protest in public!
“If you know who this woman is and you can give me her address, we’ll protest out in front of her home. Let’s go protest out of her house and tell her what’s right for her body,” he continued.
Democrat legislator @BrianSimsPA bullied a pro-life woman and called her racist, sexist names. His response to criticism?
“Bring it, Bible Bullies! You are bigots, sexists, and misogynists.”
You’re a total hypocrite Brian.
Watch him harass a woman:https://t.co/dbVKiJgM63
— LifeNews.com (@LifeNewsHQ) May 6, 2019
For most of the video, the woman silently bore Sims’ bullying. The exception was when he got his camera close to her face and she told him not to.
Sims also repeatedly exerted his power and privilege by mentioning that he is a state representative, including when the woman appeared to be calling police.
His bullying continued for at least eight minutes, the length of the video.
“Today’s protester, now she is an old white lady who is going to try to avoid showing you her face,” Sims began, according to a transcript by the Daily Caller. “But the same laws, luckily, that protect her from being out here also protect me from showing you who she is. And so my hope is that you’ll donate $100 [to Planned Parenthood] for every extra hour that this woman is out here telling people what is right for their bodies.”
LifeNews also reported on a second video that Sims posted several weeks ago where he made a similar request. He offered his viewers $100 to identify four pro-life advocates, including several teenage girls, who were peacefully praying outside the same Planned Parenthood.
This is not the first time @briansimspa has harassed pro-life women.
Three weeks ago, Brian Sims offered viewers $100 to doxx these teen girls:
“I’ve got $100 to anybody who will identify these three, and I
will donate to Planned Parenthood”https://t.co/ZS61gIFosn pic.twitter.com/R77mqyhsLR— LifeNews.com (@LifeNewsHQ) May 6, 2019
“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 the state representative may be trying to intimidate pro-life advocates through doxxing, an online practice where a person’s name and contact information are posted publicly online usually to encourage harassment.
His harassment, videotaping and online postings may have violated consent and cyberbullying laws.
Dr. Monique Ruberu, a pro-life sidewalk counselor and advocate in the city, said the woman in the first video is one of the sidewalk counselors with her group. She said the woman told her, “I have forgiven him and am praying for him.”
The Planned Parenthood abortion clinic where Sims harassed women has failed 13 of its 23 safety inspections.
