Pennsylvania Lt. Governor’s Wife Details How She Was ‘Verbally Assaulted’ For Being An Immigrant

Over the weekend, Gisele Barreto Fetterman, the wife of Pennsylvania Democratic Lt. Governor John Fetterman, revealed her trip to the grocery store turned into a nightmare when a woman began verbally accosting her in a racist rant.

On Sunday, Fetterman, a Brazilian immigrant who was previously undocumented, took to Twitter to shared two tweets about the incident that took place near her home outside of Pittsburgh.

“I love love love this country but we are so deeply divided. I ran to the local grocery store and was met by and verbally assaulted by this woman who repeatedly told me I do not belong here,” she tweeted along with the video of the woman.

“The confrontation continued into the parking lot where I was able to finally capture it after the crying winded down. This behavior and this hatred is taught. If you know her, if she is your neighbor or relative, please, please teach her love instead.”

Fetterman told The Washington Post that the woman began to yell at her when she recognized her as the Lt. Governor’s wife. “She said, ‘There’s that n-word that Fetterman married. You don’t belong here. No one wants you here. You don’t belong here,’” Fetterman recalled.

“The fact that she was so comfortable and bold to just do it to my face with an audience...that was really scary.”

Fetterman admitted that the incident brought her back to a dark time when she was undocumented and feared being deported. “It was a really long time of really living in the shadows and being really scared of every knock at the door,” she explained.

“To then being at a place where I’m so grateful that I can vote, and that I get called for jury duty, and I can finally belong to this country that I love so much — to then having these moments where I completely feel unwelcome all over again and scared.”

Several politicians in the area rallied around Fetterman including her husband, who expressed his appreciation for the outpour of support.

“I am *deeply* grateful to the Governor for his support of @giselefetterman The outpouring of love + support from Pennsylvania’s leadership + citizens has been truly humbling. Gisele + I love this country and our commonwealth deeply. Thank you PA, for standing with Gisele,” he wrote Monday in a tweet.