Politics

George Santos claimed he was the victim of an assassination attempt

George Santos
George Santos Photo: George Santos campaign website

Out gay Rep. George Santos (R-NY) – who has been accused of lying about almost every aspect of his life – has also claimed he was once the target of an assassination attempt.

Rachel Maddow uncovered a video of Santos – who had recently won his election to the House of Representatives – speaking on a Brazilian podcast about the alleged attempt.

In Portuguese, Santos first claims that his home was vandalized in January of 2021 while he and his husband were at a New Year’s Eve party. He said the crime occurred “because we were at a Republican Party.”

Then he threw in that “we have already suffered an attempt on my life, an assassination attempt, a threatening letter, having to have the police, a police escort standing in front of our house.”

Maddow questioned the validity of this statement and said he “did not elaborate on this claim in the interview.” Maddow said her team reached out to Santos for more information but has not yet heard back.

“There oughta be a record of that sorta thing if it happened,” she said.

Maddow added that in the same interview, he went into detail about a time he was allegedly the victim of a mugging.

“In the summer of 2021, in the middle of Fifth Avenue, with the, with 55th, I was mugged by two men. Before asking any questions, they weren’t Black, they were even white, but they robbed me, took my briefcase, took my shoes and my watch. And that was in broad daylight. It was 3:00 pm.”

Maddow was skeptical that muggers would have been able to pull this off in broad daylight in one of the busiest areas of New York City, and the podcast host seemed to question it as well, asking if they really stole his shoes in the middle of 5th avenue.

“And that wasn’t the worst of it,” Santos said. “Nobody did anything, nobody did anything.”

Maddow emphasized how ridiculous she thought the claim was and said the podcast hosts asked Santos for a police report of the mugging after the interview, but they never heard back.

After being elected to represent New York’s Third Congressional District and becoming the first out gay Republican elected to Congress, Santos’ life story came crumbling down as several newspapers reported he never went to the colleges he said he attended, never worked for the major banks he said he worked for, and that he had been lying about his family history as well. He has admitted to many of these lies, calling them “a little bit of fluff” on his resume.

Santos admitted that he lied about graduating from Baruch College and New York University, working directly for Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, and living at a fake address in his congressional district. He provided no additional proof to back up claims that he founded a charity called Friends of Pets, that his grandparents escaped the Holocaust, and that he lost four employees in the June 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting.

His ex-boyfriend, Pedro Vilarva, said that, while they lived together, he paid many bills for Santos. He suspects that Santos stole and pawned his phone for cash.

Santos has also been accused of check fraud in Brazil and faces multiple ethics complaints in Congress as local and federal investigators examine his campaign finances. He has even been accused of stealing money designated for the medical care of a veteran’s dying dog.

A recent Siena College poll found that 71 percent of New York City suburbanites think Santos should resign. Only 8 percent of respondents said they had a favorable view of Santos. Santos has repeatedly said that he won’t quit.

Don't forget to share:

Support vital LGBTQ+ journalism

Reader contributions help keep LGBTQ Nation free, so that queer people get the news they need, with stories that mainstream media often leaves out. Can you contribute today?

Cancel anytime · Proudly LGBTQ+ owned and operated

Supreme Court may be forced to consider transgender bathroom bans

Previous article

Now George Santos is feuding with a drag queen on Twitter

Next article