Suspect arrested in McSally assault
Council Bluffs Police have identified and arrested a man who is suspected of sexually assaulting former Sen. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) during a run along the Missouri River on the border of Nebraska and Iowa.
Local police released surveillance camera images that the department identified as 25-year-old Dominic Henton of Papillion, Neb., WOWT 6 News reported.
The former Arizona Senator said she was on a run when she was sexually assaulted. In an Instagram video, McSally said she is safe and OK.
“A man came up behind me, and he engulfed me in a bear hug, and he molested and fondled me until I fought him off,” she said. “I then chased him down. I said a lot of swear words.”
She said was in “fight, flight or freeze” mode and chose to fight, chasing after him and throwing her water bottle at him.
McSally, who has been open about her previous experience being sexually assaulted by a superior in the Air Force, said she still has a lot to process about Wednesday’s attack.
“I know it’s tapped into a nerve of other sexual abuse and assault that I’ve been through in the past, which I’ve healed from as much as I feel can be done,” she said. “But in this case, I felt like I took my power back.”
“He tried to take power from me, but I turned it on him, and he was running from me, instead of the other way around,” McSally said.
According to the Council Bluffs Police Department (CBPD), an arrest warrant for Henton was issued Thursday evening and charged him with one count of assault with intent to commit sexual abuse. CBPD said he is “believed to be transient” and may “frequent the area on the Riverfront on both the Iowa and Nebraska sides.”
The Hill has reached out to CBPD for further comment on the investigation.
McSally served in both the House and the Senate, replacing the late Sen. John McCain (R). She speaks publicly on “how to overcome fear.” The former Senator was speaking in Omaha, Neb., Wednesday “about courage and heart.”