A senior adviser to the head of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party has resigned after making comments on the #metoo movement that generated an outcry.
Valerie Kean Staab, one of a handful of advisers working for Marcel L. Groen, posted the comments on Facebook earlier this week, according to a Philly.com report.
“These omg he touched my ass bulls— has to stop,” Staab wrote on her Facebook page. “If your [sic] sexually assaulted Call the police. If someone touched your ass go get counseling. I have personally watch [sic] women over and over sexually harass men. They just move on.”
In another Facebook missive, Staab wrote: “You have true victims of violence. Then you have ‘I don’t like the way he touched me,’ it’s getting to be a witch-hunt.”
“We are blurring the line between bad behavior and criminal behavior,” she said in a report of the conversation posted on Philly.com. “I live in the real world, where there are men who try to come onto you. If you don’t like it, stand up for yourself.”
Groen initially defended Staab, according to Philly.com.
But in a statement released Tuesday, Groen said he asked Staab for her resignation.
“The Facebook comments posted by Valerie Staab reflect neither the views of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party nor me,” Groen’s statement read. “When I saw them several days ago, I asked her to resign her position from the State Party, which she did.
“I sincerely apologize to anyone who was offended by her actions or the party’s response.”
