‘This ... hatred is taught’: Lt. Gov. Fetterman’s wife films racist verbal assault at store
The wife of Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor says she was verbally assaulted while picking up some items Sunday at a grocery store near her home.
In a post to her Twitter account, Gisele Fetterman, wife of Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, said she went “to the local grocery store and was met by and verbally assaulted by this woman who repeatedly told me I do not belong here.”
Fetterman told Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV that she didn’t notify her security detail when she went to the Aldi in Forest Hills because it is only a few minutes away from her home in Braddock.
Fetterman said she was in the store when the woman, who has not been identified, began verbally harassing her with racial slurs.
Fetterman is a native of Brazil.
She told the TV station that other customers heard the encounter and asked if she was OKand felt safe enough to leave the store.
Fetterman said the woman followed her to her vehicle when she left and continued to verbally assault her. She was able to capture a portion of the incident on video “after my crying winded down.”
“I love, love, love this country but we are deeply divided,” Fetterman posted on social media. “This behavior and this hatred is taught. Someone taught her this and she is likely teaching this to others. If you know her, if she is your neighbor or relative, please, please teach her love instead.”
In response to the incident, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey tweeted that people should use the incident as an opportunity to teach others.
“It’s on us to teach our children kindness, acceptance and inclusion, and condemn hate whenever and wherever we see it,” Casey said.
Hundreds of other people posted comments on Fetterman’s Twitter account expressing sympathy and anger over the incident.