Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., showed his support for his Democratic challenger, Deedra Abboud, on Tuesday after the Muslim candidate was attacked on Facebook for posting about her support for the separation of church and state.
“Hang in there @deedra2018. Sorry you have to put up with this. Lots of wonderful people across AZ. You’ll find them,” Flake tweeted alongside the article about Abboud being cyberbullied.
Abboud’s post read:
“Almost 250 years ago a group of dreamers came together and sketched out a revolutionary vision. No longer would they be shackled to the whims of a distant government, nor bound to the religion of an idiosyncratic king. They set out to forge their own futures, determine their own destinies, and follow their own faith. In their infinite wisdom, the Founding Fathers decreed that this nation would separate church and state, and in doing so protect both institutions. Government would be free from religious overreach, and religion would be free from government interference.”
Following the post, Abboud received large amounts of hateful comments attacking her for being Muslim.
Abboud’s spokeswoman reportedly said that these types of attacks have been going on since she launched her campaign.
“We make sure to have police escorts at our events because, yes, we have received a lot of hate,” spokesperson Jaclyn Freedman told Azcentral.com. “We had an event at the Pomegranate Cafe that the alt-right showed up at.”
Flake is one of eight Republican senators up for re-election in 2018.
