A 69-year-old poll volunteer is accusing a candidate for the Florida House of Representatives in Collier County of shoving her during the final day of early voting.
The incident allegedly occurred Saturday afternoon at the Collier County Library Headquarters on Orange Blossom Drive in North Naples.
Priscilla Gray, who was volunteering as a poll greeter, claims that Yvette Benarroch, a candidate for the House District 81 seat, pushed her while she was talking to friends in a crowded area on a patch of grass near a curb.
Gray described the encounter in a phone interview, saying that Benarroch insisted she was there first and used her body to push Gray, causing her to stumble.
“She body pushed me. Her thigh touched my thigh, her shoulder pushed my shoulder. Her leg pushed my leg. I felt her full body force against me. And the force was not strong enough to cause me to fall to the ground," Gray said. "It was just strong enough to cause me to, you know, stumble a bit and catch myself. And then I retreated.”
Gray also recounted the aftermath of the incident, stating, "Some people followed me to see if I was okay. And, of course, I was shaking. I was shaken by that aggressive, willfully aggressive behavior in front of a bunch of people. The first thing that came to my mind was, if she's going to do that in front of 15 candidates and their volunteers, what does she do in private?"
In response to the allegations, Benarroch issued a statement dismissing the claims as a "political stunt," adding, "This is unequivocally a political stunt, and there is no truth or merit to it, and there are others who have sworn that this is manufactured and a blatant lie. I want to be respectful of the witnesses that attest to the same and leave those details to the proper authorities to handle. With just a few hours before polls close, these lies and deceitful behavior are clearly meant to try to get the media to do the job that my opponent has been unable to do — convince voters he’s the better choice. I hope you’ll see through this devious attempt to manipulate the media into trying to lift up my opponent by tearing me down at the last hour."
Gray has filed a report with the Collier County Sheriff's Office, and a detective has been assigned to the case. Authorities are gathering evidence, including surveillance footage from the library's cameras.