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WATCH: Political Motive Alleged, Questioned in Attack on Gay Wisconsin Volunteer
WATCH: Political Motive Alleged, Questioned in Attack on Gay Wisconsin Volunteer
A gay man says he was assaulted for working for the candidate running against a gay congressional hopeful in Wisconsin -- but some media sources appear skeptical about the attack's motivation.
Kyle Wood is a full-time volunteer for Republican congressional candidate Chad Lee, who is running against Democrat Mark Pocan, the gay man seeking to succeed lesbian congresswoman Tammy Baldwin in representing a liberal district centered on Madison, a university town and the state capital. Baldwin is giving up her seat to run for U.S. Senate.
Wood told the conservative website Daily Caller that Wednesday morning, there was a knock at the door of his home in Madison and "I opened it, and a guy wrapped a ligature around my neck, slammed my head into the doorway, and smashed my face into a mirror, telling me 'You should have kept your [f*******] mouth shut.'" He was then beaten, he said.
He also said that last week, graffiti was painted on his car that "included the phrases 'house trained republican faggot,' 'traitor,' and 'ur like a jew 4 hitler,'" the Daily Caller reports. He had responded to that with a Facebook post saying, among other things, "I will not be bullied into voting for a gay man simply because I am gay."
GOProud cofounder Jimmy LaSalvia told the Daily Caller that the attack was an example of "hate and vitriol directed towards a gay conservative from gay liberals."
However, Christian Schneider, a blogger for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, said he has delayed posting an account of the attack because questions arose about some details in the Daily Caller story, which he quoted extensively. "I decided to hold off on running the post until I can verify some of the facts that have been reported," he wrote. Madison NBC station WMTV had a disclaimer with its coverage, saying, "We want you to know that it is not clear if this attack was politically motivated."
A Madison Police Department report does say that "investigators believe this was not a random crime." Wood was treated at a hospital and released.
Watch the WMTV coverage below.
