Female journalists report harassment from "Bernie bros" supporting Sanders
Female journalists are reporting several instances of harassment from rogue Bernie Sanders supporters, saying the Sanders backers have issued sexist comments and have even threatened bodily harm.
New York Times reporter Amy Chozick, who covers the campaign of presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, sent a tweet Tuesday chronicling some of the intimidation tactics from so-called "Bernie bros."
The reports flooded Twitter just hours before Clinton won over a majority of pledged delegates during Tuesday's critical primary races.
One NPR reporter, Tamara Keith, sarcastically commented that Tuesday was "going to be awesome," attaching a photo of one person accusing her of "lying about the primary."
Other journalists chimed in with their own versions of chilling online messages.
The history of vitriol from the campaign's backers go beyond Tuesday's primary, however.
In a March blog post, Washington Post reporter Janell Ross, who is African American, chronicled her experience on the receiving end of sexist and racist comments from Sanders supporters: "They use a variety of curse words and insults typically reserved for women. More than one has suggested that I deserve to become the victim of a sex crime.... they insist that black voters are dumb or that I have a personal obligation to help black voters see the error of their Clinton-voting ways."
While Sanders himself has discouraged violence, the ugly online messages have nevertheless spilled over into the very real political arena.
Most recently, California Sen. Barbara Boxer, a Democrat and Clinton backer, said she feared for her safety after Sanders supporters caused a raucous at the Nevada state party's convention last month, throwing chairs and shouting at party leaders. Roberta Lange, the chairwoman of the Nevada Democratic Party, even said she received death threats via phone calls, voicemails, and texts.
"It was a scary situation," Boxer told CNN after the convention. "It was frightening. I was on the stage. People were six feet away from me. If I didn't have a lot of security, I don't know what would have happened."