Pennsylvania’s second lady Gisele Barreto Fetterman posted a video on Twitter Sunday showing part of an encounter at a grocery store where she was racially abused by a woman.
In the video, a woman can be seen lowering down her mask while coming up to the window of a car and saying “you’re a n—–” to the person in the vehicle, who is presumably Fetterman.
*TRIGGER WARNING* I love love love this country but we are so deeply divided. I ran to the local grocery store and was met by and verbally assaulted by this woman who repeatedly told me I do not belong here. The confrontation continued into the parking lot where I was able to pic.twitter.com/kzSoxCVJ2x
— Gisele Barreto Fetterman (@giselefetterman) October 11, 2020
“I love love love this country, but we are so deeply divided,” Fetterman wrote on Twitter. “I ran to the local grocery store and was met by and verbally assaulted by this woman who repeatedly told me I do not belong here. The confrontation continued into the parking lot where I was able to finally capture it after the crying winded down. This behavior and this hatred is taught. If you know her, if she is your neighbor or relative, please, please teach her love instead.”
Fetterman, 38, is a Brazilian American who gained citizenship in 2009 after coming to the United States when she was 8 years old, initially entering the country without legal permission. She received her green card in 2004 and married now-Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, a Democrat, in 2008.
Gisele Barreto Fetterman normally travels with state troopers when she is out of her home, but she was on her own when the incident occurred on Sunday.
In an interview with the Washington Post, Fetterman said it was the first time she’s been insulted in person, though she’s received online attacks in the past.
“She said, ‘There’s that N-word that Fetterman married. You don’t belong here. No one wants you here. You don’t belong here,’” Fetterman told the paper.
Fetterman added that she felt nervous during the encounter and expressed gratitude that she has the opportunity to be with security guards normally.
“It was shocking,” she said. “It took me a really long time to process it. It was just really, really sad.”
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf condemned the incident, expressing that he and his wife give Fetterman their “full support and gratitude.”
The ethnic intimidation and hate speech spewed at the Second Lady of Pennsylvania is shameful and unacceptable.
Racism is always unacceptable and unworthy of Pennsylvanians.
No one should ever be made to feel unwelcome in our commonwealth because of their race or ethnicity.
— Governor Tom Wolf (@GovernorTomWolf) October 12, 2020
“The ethnic intimidation and hate speech spewed at the Second Lady of Pennsylvania is shameful and unacceptable,” Wolf tweeted on Monday. “Racism is always unacceptable and unworthy of Pennsylvanians. No one should ever be made to feel unwelcome in our commonwealth because of their race or ethnicity.”
The Pennsylvania State Police are investigating the incident, but it is unclear that the woman in the video would face charges if she’s identified, the Philly Voice reported.
