Last night, a masked individual left a severed pig’s head at my door. This comes after weeks of threats, disturbing text messages from anonymous numbers, and lies being spread against my partner and I because we came forward about sexual assault cover-ups within the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO). We are now trying to relocate to a safer location since our address has been shared with these dangerous individuals.
Michael Sampson, who I knew as a member of FRSO and NAARPR, sexually assaulted me on multiple occasions. Over the course of multiple years, I told four different people in FRSO about what he did, and none of them took action. Even worse, when my partner and I came forward with a political document urging the organization to change its sexual assault policy, the leadership said I never actually told them that Mike Sampson sexually assaulted me.
After sharing the document, FRSO leadership told me that they didn’t remember me using the words sexual assault. They used gaslighting language to absolve themselves of accountability, and while they said Michael Sampson would be kicked out of FRSO and mass activism, I still see FRSO leadership sharing pictures and making content with him. This tactic is very common among enablers of abuse. They tell a victim that their memories are not correct. They lie and turn their friends or family against them. I trusted these people, and the fact that this type of response to rape culture could happen with my chosen family, my group of comrades that I’ve known for more than half of my adult life, is truly sickening.
In addition to the pig’s head, I have been receiving disturbing and threatening text messages from an anonymous number for weeks. These messages have attacked my mental health, spread lies about my partner being a cop, and include details about my life that only one of my close friends could have known. This is in addition to the recent posts by Monique Sampson, Michael Sampson's wife, who creates content under the name Black Belt Daily. These posts, which were conveniently shared just as lies about my partner being a cop were spreading, were shared widely by local members of FRSO leadership in an effort to further cover-up for their failure to address sexual assault.
Despite all this, we won’t be intimidated. We will still be fighting for a better Tallahassee, a better system to address rape culture, and a better world. Any funds will be used towards helping us relocate to a new address, and should we end up with extra funds, they will be used in any upcoming legal efforts. We truly appreciate anything you can provide, or if you can just share this around.
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In solidarity,
Regina and Juniper