Firebrand Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) denied claims that she shot and killed a neighbor’s dog after the canine attacked the congresswoman’s goats on her property.
Boebert, a staunch supporter of gun rights, came under scrutiny after a woman named Yaritza Mendoza claimed in a Facebook post that the Colorado Republican had shot and killed her husky “with the ‘power’ of your gun,” according to the Independent. Boebert responded to those claims in a tweet on Monday, noting she has “never” shot a dog before.
“For the uninformed trolls: The story that was started saying I killed a neighbor’s dog is not true. I’ve never shot or killed any dog, ever,” Boebert said in a tweet on Monday.
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Mendoza accused Boebert of shooting the dog after the pet entered the congresswoman’s property in August and “hurt the goats,” she wrote in her Facebook post.
“I would have hoped you had the decency to let us know you had killed her. Instead you waited until I knocked on your door after hours of hearing me yell her name,” she wrote. “I did not find out from you that you killed her. I found out from the authorities who also handed me a citation for a ‘Dog at large’ along with the devastating news. I was given a citation due to the fact that you were considering her to be ‘violent.’”
Boebert denied the claims, arguing someone else had already “told the police that he shot two dogs.” Police with the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office denied the claim that Boebert shot the dogs, according to the outlet.
A spokesperson for Boebert also shared screenshots with the Washington Examiner appearing to show comments from a woman named Tina Bergonzini, who said she is Boebert’s neighbor. In several different comments and posts, Bergonzini rejects claims that Boebert shot and killed the dog, instead claiming it was Bergonzini’s boyfriend that did so.
“My boyfriend shot both of them,” Bergonzini said in a Facebook comment. “It’s on file.”
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“Yes the police know my [significant other] shot the dogs,” Bergonzini said in a separate comment. “No, Lauren did not kill either dog. That is a blatant falsehood.”
The Washington Examiner contacted the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office for verification but has not yet received a response.
Boebert is running for reelection in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District and will face Democrat Adam Frisch. The race is expected to lean Republican.
