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On Monday, October 23, 2023, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee's campaign chair, Gerald Womack, was reportedly assaulted outside the congresswoman's satellite office at 4400 Block, Almeda Road, Houston, Texas. According to the police, Womack and the assailant knew each other before, and the assailant had been allegedly harassing Womack for months.
The assault came at a time when Sheila Jackson Lee was facing heavy backlash for an expletive-laden rant circulating online, which featured an argument between Sheila Jackson Lee and a member of her staff. On Tuesday, October 24, Jackson Lee issued a statement about the recording where she expressed:
"To anyone who has listened to this recording with concern, I am regretful"
"I know that I am not perfect": Sheila Jackson Lee
A conservative Texas Blog named Current Revolt leaked the viral audio clip on October 21. The audio featured a conversation between the Houston mayoral candidate and Democratic Rep.Sheila Jackson Lee and a male member of her staff.
The staffer could be heard informing Lee that the date of a particular calendar event, which featured Ovide Duncantell and had been requested by Jackson Lee, had already been given to someone named "Jerome." The staff member also mentioned that they would contact Jerome to get the date. Jackson Lee snapped at the staffer, saying she did not want him to do a "goddamn thing."
"I need to ensure my schedule and, you know—if Boo Boo did it, S**tass did it, F**kface did it. And nobody knows a goddamn thing in my office. OK? Nothing," she said.
The congresswoman berated the staffer by telling him she wanted him to have a "f**king brain." She said he should've read the information and provided her the exact date instead of saying "Jerome" had it.
"So when I call Jerome, he’s going to be sitting up there like a fata*s stupid idiot talking about, ‘Uh, what the f**k?’ He doesn’t know. OK? Both of y’all are f**kups," she further said.
"It’s the worst s**t that I could have ever had put together. Two goddamn biga*s children. F**king idiots, serve no goddamn purpose," she added.
The audio clip went viral online, prompting heavy backlash against the mayoral candidate. On Tuesday, October 24, Sheila Jackson Lee released a statement addressing the viral recording. She started the statement by saying that she "strongly believed" that everyone, including her staff, deserved to be treated with "dignity and respect."
"I know that I am not perfect. I recognize that in my zeal to do everything possible to deliver for my constituents I have in the past fallen short of my own standards and there is no excuse for that," she said.
She continued by calling herself a person who "tells it straight." Although she called this her strength, Sheila Jackson Lee mentioned that it could be a challenge to manage and that whenever she fell short, it was because she was standing up for the people she represented, not herself. She explicitly mentioned the recording and made a few allegations.
"To anyone who has listened to this recording with concern, I am regretful and hope you will judge me not by something trotted out by a political opponent, that worked to exploit this, and backed by extreme Republican supporters on the very day that polls open, but from what I’ve delivered to Houstonians over my years of public service," she said.
She claimed that many of her former staff members had gone on to "bigger and better opportunities," and some returned to work with her. She also mentioned that her interns received "actual constituent service and legislative experience." She complimented her staff by saying:
"I want each of them to know that the work we accomplish would never be possible without their hard work and dedication."
She said that she expected excellence at all times while working in the "demanding" position of a public servant and claimed that she could only fulfill her duties because of her staff's commitment. She further proclaimed:
"I will never forget the debt of gratitude I and so many others owe them."
She concluded the statement by re-iterating her vision for Houston and dedication to addressing the pressing issues of the community. She proclaimed that she was committed to making Houston a better place and that the focus needed to shift to real issues instead of political stunts to achieve these goals.
Womack identifies his assailant as a "known conspiracy theorist"
A day before the statement was put out, on Monday, Sheila Jackson Lee's campaign chair, Gerald Womack, was hospitalized after he was attacked outside Jackson Lee's satellite office at Almeda Road, which also doubled as Womack's estate business office. Sheila Jackson Lee put out a statement later in the day that read:
"We are deeply concerned by these attacks and this is yet another example of how dangerous conspiracy rhetoric inflamed by Republican extremists has real consequences where people get hurt."
The statement further read:
"We have taken additional security measures and we will continue to move forward with our task at hand-to elect the best choice for Mayor of Houston, Sheila Jackson Lee"
Police reports indicated that the attack took place at around 9.50 am. The Houston Police Department told KPRC2 that the 66-year-old had previously known the assailant, who had allegedly been harassing Womack for six months. One of Jackson Lee's campaign workers, Angelica Kaufman, told the outlet that Womack was hit in the head.
Kaufman told The Daily Beast that the campaign was still awaiting further updates on Gerald Womack's condition and that the Womack Development and Investment Realtors Incorporated CEO was bleeding while being taken to the hospital in an ambulance. A campaign employee told KPRC2 that the assailant was a "political operative."
According to a Houston Chronicle report, Womack told the police that his assailant was a 56-year-old "known conspiracy theorist." The report indicated that when asked to leave, the man who entered Womack's premises on Monday punched Womack in the face. This briefly led to a scuffle and ended with the man exiting the building and getting away on foot.
Womack, a long-time friend of Sheila Jackson Lee, told The Houston Chronicle on Tuesday, October 24, that the attack left him with pain even after being discharged, along with a dent in his head. He revealed that he was going to press charges against the assailant.
