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Officers Dove on NYC Bombing Suspect After Explosion: Union

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When the violent rumble of a crude explosive detonating sent hundreds of commuters running in a crowded tunnel near Manhattan’s Port Authority Bus Terminal, four officers did what they were trained to do: They headed to the source of the sound.

Port Authority Police Department officers Jack Collins, Anthony Manfredini, Drew Preston and Sean Gallagher were credited with saving dozens of lives after the blast in a tunnel between the Port Authority/42nd Street subway station and the Times Square/42nd Street stop on Monday morning by jumping on the suspect in the attack, Akayed Ullah, as he reached for his cellphone.

"These police officers are among the most highly trained police officers in the nation, as are all Port Authority police officers,” said Paul Nunziato, the president of the PAPD’s rank-and-file union. "I am so thankful there was no loss of life and I could not be prouder of our Port Authority police officers, their actions and dedication to their sworn duty."

Nunziato said that Manfredini first heard the commotion and made the call for help. Then, he rushed through waves of terrified straphangers and into the smoke left by the crude explosive’s blast alongside Collins, Preston and Gallagher.

Collins pulled out his service weapon and drew down on the man. Nunziato said when they saw the wires peeking from under his ripped shirt as the man reached for his phone and jumped -- literally -- into action.

"Whether he was trying to other people that could be involved in terrorism or trying to detonate the device, they jumped right on him," Nunziato said.

Nunziato said their split-second decision could have left them dead -- but it was one that potentially stopped the attack from progressing further.

"All four of those officers, if the rest of that device detonated, they would have all been dead," he said. "Along with anyone else who was just trying to get to work."

The officers aren’t the only ones who were credited with heroism in the face of what Mayor Bill de Blasio called an attempted act of terror.

MTA station cleaner Sean Monroe said he was just steps behind Ullah when the device went off. But rather than run for his life, he said he helped others get to safety.

"It was a very scary moment but MTA trained me they trained me to do stuff like that so I said, 'Let me help these people,'" he said.



Photo Credit: Provided by the Port Authority Police Department

Trump on NYC Subway Bombing: 'End Chain Migration'

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President Donald Trump said in a statement that Monday's underground explosion near Manhattan's Port Authority Bus Terminal "highlights the urgent need for Congress to enact legislative reforms" on immigration.

In the statement issued just before 5 p.m., the president said Congress needs to end what he called "chain migration" and increase immigration security after police said Akayed Ullah -- a 27-year-old man of Bangladeshi descent with a last known address in Brooklyn -- detonated a crude explosive device in the tunnel between the Port Authority Bus Terminal and the Times Square/42nd Street subway station about 7:15 p.m. Monday. 

"First and foremost, as I have been saying since I first announced my candidacy for President, America must fix its lax immigration system, which allows far too many dangerous, inadequately vetted people to access our country," Trump said in the statement.

Ullah is not a U.S. citizen but had attained permanent residency. He came to the country on Feb. 21, 2011, on a F43 family immigrant visa. A Department of Homeland Security spokesman said he benefited from "family chain migration."

"Today’s terror suspect entered our country through extended-family chain migration, which is incompatible with national security," Trump said in the statement.

The president, who often takes to Twitter after terror attacks, has yet to tweet about Monday's explosion.

After Halloween's attack in Tribeca that left 8 people dead, the president likewise zeroed in on immigration, tweeting that he wanted to end the diversity visa lottery program that suspect Sayfullo Saipov used to enter the country.

Read the president's full statement below:

Today’s attempted mass murder attack in New York City—the second terror attack in New York in the last two months—once again highlights the urgent need for Congress to enact legislative reforms to protect the American people.

First and foremost, as I have been saying since I first announced my candidacy for President, America must fix its lax immigration system, which allows far too many dangerous, inadequately vetted people to access our country. Today’s terror suspect entered our country through extended-family chain migration, which is incompatible with national security. My Executive action to restrict the entry of certain nationals from eight countries, which the Supreme Court recently allowed to take effect, is just one step forward in securing our immigration system. Congress must end chain migration. Congress must also act on my Administration’s other proposals to enhance domestic security, including increasing the number of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, enhancing the arrest and detention authorities for immigration officers, and ending fraud and abuse in our immigration system. The terrible harm that this flawed system inflicts on America’s security and economy has long been clear. I am determined to improve our immigration system to put our country and our people first.

Second, those convicted of engaging in acts of terror deserve the strongest penalty allowed by law, including the death penalty in appropriate cases. America should always stand firm against terrorism and extremism, ensuring that our great institutions can address all evil acts of terror.



Photo Credit: AP/Andres Kudacki

56 Dems Ask House to Investigate Trump Sexual Misconduct

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Over 50 Democratic lawmakers on Monday asked the House oversight committee to investigate sexual misconduct allegations made against President Donald Trump.

The Democratic Women’s Working Group wrote that the country deserves "a full inquiry into the truth of these allegations" in a letter to committee chairman Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., and ranking member Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md.

“At least 17 women have publicly accused the President of sexual misconduct,” said the letter, which was signed by 56 lawmakers. “We cannot ignore the multitude of women who have come forward with accusations.”

The letter added that Trump should be allowed to present evidence in his own defense. 

In a tweet Tuesday morning, Trump denied he knows or ever met his accusers: "Despite thousands of hours wasted and many millions of dollars spent, the Democrats have been unable to show any collusion with Russia - so now they are moving on to the false accusations and fabricated stories of women who I don’t know and/or have never met. FAKE NEWS!"



Photo Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images, File

Calif. Sex Offender Arrested in 1980 Rape, Murder of 14-Year-Old Girl

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A convicted rapist was arrested Monday in the 1980 abduction, rape and killing of a teenage girl, Antioch police said. 

The killing had been the oldest open cold case homicide on record in the East Bay city. 

At about 5 p.m., Mitchell Lynn Bacom, 63, was taken into custody in the June 1980 murder of 14-year-old Suzanne Bombardier, who had been taken in the middle of the night from her sister's home in Antioch, police said. She had been missing for five days before her body was found in the San Joaquin River, near the Antioch Bridge.

The cause of death was determined to be one stab wound to the chest that penetrated her heart, police said. Evidence at the time indicated she had been sexually assaulted.

Bacom was identified as the suspect through DNA testing, police said. He is being held on charges of murder, kidnapping, rape and oral copulation.

Since Suzanne's death, Bacom has been convicted twice on sex-related crimes and other felonies: in Iselton in 1981 and in Contra Costa County in 2002. Before Suzanne's death, he had been convicted of rape and other felonies in Mountain View in 1974.



Photo Credit: Antioch PD

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee Dies at 65

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San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee died early Tuesday morning at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, his office announced. He was 65 years old.

The office didn't immediately explain what Lee died of at 1:11 a.m., and had not previously announced any illness. Lee's "family, friends and colleagues were at his side," his office said. 

Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown said Lee died of a heart attack, but that point has yet to be confirmed by Lee's office. 

San Francisco Board of Supervisors President London Breed became acting mayor of the city, per the city charter.

Breed held a brief news conference at the hospital Tuesday morning just hours after Lee's death, confirming "with profound sadness" that Lee died and that she stepped into his role.

A second media availability with Breed and other city officials was set for Tuesday at 10 a.m. at City Hall.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Anita, his two daughters, Brianna and Tania, and his family," the office wrote in its news release.

Lee was San Francisco's 43rd mayor and its first Asian-American mayor, taking office in January 2011 to serve out Gavin Newsom's term after Newsom was elected lieutenant governor of California. He had been San Francisco's city administrator.

He won an election for mayor in 2011 and was re-elected in 2015.

It is the first time since 1978, when Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk were assassinated, that a successor is taking over the office of San Francisco mayor. Supervisor Dianne Feinstein became mayor, the first woman to hold the office, and is now California's senior U.S. senator.

Lee was born in Seattle and attended Bowdoin College and Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley. He was a housing activist and civil rights attorney.

The city's website credits him with overseeing San Franciso's "most successful economic expansion in City history," having added 140,000 jobs and more homes to the housing market than any other mayor in the city's history.

Still, under Lee's tenure the city has grappled with the high cost of living amid San Francisco's tech boom.

During his 2012 inaugural address, Lee spoke of the need to embrace technology even when it causes disruption, then pulled out his smartphone to send a tweet mid-speech.

"That's a little disruption," Lee said after tweeting an infographic of the city's jobs numbers. "But it show how important, I think, innovation and technology are to reforming our government and building our future."




Photo Credit: NBC Bay Area

NFL Network Suspends Faulk, 2 Others Over Allegation

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The NFL Network suspended Pro Football Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk and two other former NFL players-turned-analysts on Monday, after they and a former network executive were alleged to have sexually harassed a female colleague.

Faulk and fellow on-air analysts Ike Taylor and Heath Evans, along with former executive producer Eric Weinberger and former network analysts Donovan McNabb, Warren Sapp and Eric Davis, were named in an updated lawsuit against NFL Enterprises by Jami Cantor, a former wardrobe stylist for the network.

An amended complaint in the lawsuit, originally filed in October in Los Angeles Superior Court, accuses Faulk and Evans of having groped Cantor while she was at the network, while it accuses Taylor and McNabb of having sent her sexually inappropriate communications.

NBC News reached out to Faulk, Taylor, Evans, McNabb, Weinberger and Davis for their responses to the allegations and was attempting to reach Sapp.



Photo Credit: Frank Victores/AP, File

Route 5 in South Windsor Closed After Tractor-Trailer Crash

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The southbound side of Route 5 in South Windsor is closed due to a tractor-trailer crash Tuesday morning.

Police said Route 5 southbound is closed near Kimberly Drive. It is unclear if there are any injuries.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

Connecticut Reports its First Flu-Related Death This Season

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For some getting the flu shot is an annual tradition, but others don't think much about it. Doctors warn that the flu is something to take seriously.

"Connecticut this week just reported its first case of a death related to influenza in the state, so it certainly can have pretty severe consequences," said UConn Health Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases Dr. Kevin Dieckhaus.

The latest update from the state's health department says 197 people tested positive for the illness so far this season and "one influenza-associated death in an individual greater than 65 years of age has been reported."

"Those who are particularly susceptible to flu or complications of flu are those who are over the age of 65, pregnant women, or those with a chronic medical condition such as a pulmonary condition, cardiac condition, or diabetes," said Dieckhaus.

Dr. Dieckhaus recommends everyone over the age of six months receive the vaccine and says it's not too late to get one if you haven't already.

Doctors say what happens in the U.S. with flu season tends to mirror what happened in the southern hemisphere. Australia had a late flu season with mostly an H3N2 strain. The current vaccine covers the H3N2 strain, so doctors are optimistic the vaccine will be effective. But it's too early to say how effective this year's shot will be. Still, experts say it's still worth getting the vaccine.

"The vaccine efficacy can be anywhere from 40 to 60 percent. This means it reduces the chance of coming down with the flu, or if you're someone who does get the flu, it lessens the likelihood you'll get very sick from the flu," said Dieckhaus.

Doctors also suspect the flu season could peak later than normal this season - around February or March - meaning the entire flu season could go from now until April or May.

There are many varieties of the flu vaccine. Health experts recommend you talk with your primary care provider to decide which is best for you.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

3 Arrested After Man Was Thrown From Bridge in Shelton: PD

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A Derby man faces attempted murder charges after allegedly throwing a man off a bridge during a fight on Thanksgiving Day, according to Shelton police.

Shelton police say a man was seriously injured after being thrown off the Derby Shelton Bridge when he tried to intervene during an argument between a couple.

Three people, identified as 25-year-old Gregory Rottjer, 27-year-old Matthew Dorso of Ansonia, and 22-year-old Jennifer Hannum of Derby have been charged in connection with the incident.

According to police, Rottjer and Hannum were having an argument while walking over the bridge. The victim, identified as a 30-year-old man from Monroe, got involved to ask of Hannum was ok, then tried to walk away.

Police claim that’s when Rottjer and his friend, Dorso, got into a physical fight with the victim. Investigators said that Rottjer intentionally threw the victim over the bridge during the fight. Rottjer, Dorso and Hannum then fled the scene.

The victim fell 45 feet into the water below. He was rescued by a police officer who jumped into the river and pulled him to shore. He is still recovering from his injuries.

Rottjer has been charged with criminal attempt at murder, first-degree assault, and reckless endangerment. He is currently being held on a $250,000 bond and is due in court Tuesday.

Dorso was charged with third-degree assault and released on a promise to appear.

Hannum, who investigators allege lied to detectives, was charged with interfering with an officer and released on a $1,000 bond.

Both Dorso and Hannum are due in court on Dec. 22.



Photo Credit: Shelton Police Department

Serious Injuries in Crash That Closed Route 6 in Chaplin

Minor Injuries Reported After Plainfield Bus Crash

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Several children were injured when a school bus was involved in an accident on Route 14A in Plainfield Tuesday morning.

The crash involved three vehicles and happened near the intersection with Gallup Street. Quinebaug Valley Emergency Communications confirms that seven children were taken to Backus Plainfield Emergency Care Center with minor injuries.

It is unclear if anyone else was hurt.

The road is currently closed.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

Residents Displaced After Fire at Foran Towers in Milford

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A firefighter was injured and some residents displaced after a fire at an apartment building in Milford Tuesday morning.

Fire officials say they received a 911 call reporting fire at the Foran Towers housing complex at 264 High Street around 4:20 a.m. When crews responded they found fire coming from the window of a fifth-floor apartment.

No residents were injured. One firefighter suffered a minor injury to his eye.

The sprinkler system contained the blaze to the one apartment, but there is smoke damage to the fifth floor and water damage on the fourth and third floors of the building.

Milford Housing has responded to assist any residents that are temporarily displaced. It was not immediately clear how many residents were affected.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.




Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

Deep River Estate Designed By Photographer to the Stars Is for Sale

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Photo Credit: Lanny Nagler

3 Arrested in Prostitution Raid at Greenwich Massage Parlor

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Police arrested two employees of a Greenwich massage parlor and a customer after raiding Green Health Massage last week.

Police said they started investigating the massage parlor at 28 Greenwich Ave. after receiving complaints about prostitution and searched the premises on Wednesday, Dec. 6.

Xue Mei Jiang, 41, of Flushing New York, and 50-year-old Yuhong Zeng, also of Flushing, New York, were both charged with prostitution.

Police said Zeng touched and “began to manipulate” the genitals of a male undercover police officer.

One customer, Kashif Aqeel, 43, of Parkland, Florida, told police he found the business online and agreed to pay for a massage and to have sexual contact with a masseuse, police said.

He was charged with patronizing a prostitute.

Police also notified the Greenwich Board of Health.



Photo Credit: NBCConnecticut.com

Trump Attorney: FBI, DOJ Conflicts Need 2nd Special Counsel

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A member of President Donald Trump's legal team said Tuesday that it's time to create a second special counsel to start investigating the FBI and Department of Justice, NBC News reported.

Jay Sekulow confirmed his remarks, which were first reported by Axios, in which he said the DOJ and FBI can no longer ignore the "multiple problems" created by "obvious conflicts of interest" while a special counsel investigates allegations of collusion between Russia and Trump's presidential campaign. Robert Mueller, a former FBI director, began leading that federal probe in May.

"These new revelations require the appointment of a special counsel to investigate," Sekulow said. He said the call for another special counsel "has nothing to do with Bob Mueller or Mueller's team."

Sekulow's comments come after a senior Justice Department official was demoted in the wake of a report that he met with a private intelligence firm collecting anti-Trump opposition research and a top FBI agent was revealed to have been reassigned for potentially sharing personal texts that were critical of Trump



Photo Credit: Steve Helber/AP, File

Three Strange Moments From Roy Moore's Election-Eve Rally

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That time in 2017 when political testimonials include a brothel in Vietnam and love for your Jewish attorney. 

Senate candidate Roy Moore's final campaign event Monday on the eve of Alabama's special election produced a trio of eyebrow-raising moments that caught fire on social media.

Moore's surrogates, speaking from what Al.com described as a barn-style building in Midland City, championed their candidate in sometimes unorthodox ways. Let's roll the tape: 

The Brothel Story
Bill Staehle, who served with Moore in Vietnam, recalled from the stage an experience with another officer who had invited the pair to a "private club" to celebrate his last night in the country. 

"He took us to this place which turned out to be a brothel," Staehle said. "We walked inside. I could tell you what I saw, but I don't want to. It was clear to us what kind of place this was." 

He went on to describe the place. 

"There were certainly pretty girls and they were young," Staehle said. "Some were probably very young." 

Moore has been accused of sexual misconduct with teenage girls when he was a prosecutor in his 30s. He has denied all allegations.

Staehle said that Moore told him, "we shouldn't be here. I'm leaving." 

Both left in the other officer's Jeep. 

"That was Roy - honorable, disciplined, morally straight and highly principled," Staehle said. 


The Jewish Attorney
Roy Moore's wife Kayla fought back against claims that her husband was anti-Semitic after suggesting during the campaign that George Soros, a liberal billionaire and Holocaust survivor, was going to hell. 

"Fake news would tell you that we don’t care for Jews," Kayla Moore said. "I tell you all this because I’ve seen it all and I just want to set the record straight while they’re all here." 

She proceeded to outline the case. 

"Well, one of our attorneys is a Jew," Moore said, adding heft to her pronunciation of Jew. "We have very close friends who are Jewish and rabbis and we also fellowship with them.” 

Moore earlier noted friendships with black people and touted that her husband appointed the first black marshal to the state Supreme Court. 


Steve Bannon's Education Swipe
The pro-Moore barnstorm also featured former White House strategist Steve Bannon, who argued that Tuesday's election is a referendum on President Donald Trump's agenda. 

His comments about MSNBC's "Morning Joe" host Joe Scarborough may have stepped on the message. 

Bannon mocked the former GOP Florida congressman by saying that he had gotten into better schools — Georgetown and Harvard. 

It turns out Scarborough graduated from the University of Alabama. So did Bannon's guy Roy Moore, who graduated from the University of Alabama School of Law. 

Scarborough didn't let the gaffe go unanswered. 


Meanwhile, Moore's Democratic opponent Doug Jones held his final rally on Monday. It featured Alabama native Charles Barkley, who also delivered a notable moment on the trail. 

"I love Alabama, but at some point we've got to draw a line in the sand and say, 'We're not a bunch of damn idiots,'" Barkley said.


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Photo Credit: Getty Images
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FAA: Holiday Laser-Light Displays May Be Blinding for Pilots

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With more people opting out of traditional Christmas lights and choosing instead to create over-the-top laser displays, the Federal Aviation Administration warns these powerful beams could shoot past homes and into the sky, distracting pilots. 

“The FAA's concerns about lasers – regardless of the source – is that they not be aimed at aircraft in a way that can threaten the safety of a flight by distracting or blinding the pilots,” the federal agency said in a statement. “People may not realize that systems they set up to spread holiday cheer can also pose a potential hazard to pilots flying overhead.”

The FAA said pilots over the past few years have reported being distracted or blinded by residents' Christmas-themed laser light displays.

Homeowners using laser-light displays should ensure the lights are hitting their house and not shining up into the sky, the FAA advised.

“It may not look like the lights go much farther than your house, but the extremely concentrated beams of laser lights actually reach much further than most people think,” the agency said.

The FAA said it Once aware of a laser-light display affecting pilots, the FAA said it asks the owner to adjust or turn them off. If a display continues to be a problem for pilots, a repeat offender could face an FAA civil penalty, the aviation agency said.



Photo Credit: Getty Images

Inmates to Turn Guns from Buyback Program Into Gardening Tools

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The New Haven Police Department will be buying back guns Saturday and those guns will be transformed into gardening tools, with help from inmates, and provided to schools to harvest vegetables. 

Once people turn guns in for gift cards, officers will destroy those guns “under the tutelage of a local and renowned sculptor,” Gar Waterman, police said. 

Volunteer members of Connecticut’s prison inmate population will receive the destroyed weapons and Warden Jose Feliciano and staff from the Connecticut Department of Corrections will oversee them as inmates forge the pieces into gardening tools. 

Some of the tools will then be donated to New Haven Public Schools that support agricultural programs, including gardening, and the tools will be used to plant and cultivate vegetable gardens. 

The crops will be harvested and donated to area soup kitchens. 

The New Haven Police Department gun buyback will be at 710 Sherman Parkway in New Haven, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. People turning in working guns will get gift cards for American Express, Stop & Shop, Target, Walmart, Kohl’s or Amazon while supplies last. 

Single and double-shot (Derringer style) handguns will be worth $25; rifles and shotguns will be worth $50; pistols and revolvers (handguns) will be worth $100 and assault weapons (to be determined by New Haven Police) will be worth $200. 

Guns must be delivered unloaded in clear plastic bags and any ammunition must be delivered in a separate bag. The person dropping off the gun will not be charged with illegal possession of that specific firearm, according to police. 

They said no questions will be asked and no identification will be required.

You can donate through GunXGun.com




Photo Credit: NBCConnecticut.com

Kim Jong Un Has Committed 10 Crimes Against Humanity: Panel

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has up to 130,000 people imprisoned across a network of gulags, amounting to atrocities committed against his own nation, an international war crimes committee reported Tuesday.

NBC News reported that the dictator committed all but one of the 11 recognized crimes against humanity, according to the International Bar Association War Crimes Committee's report: murder, extermination, enslavement, forcible transfer, imprisonment, torture, sexual violence, persecution, enforced disappearances and other inhumane acts.

Defectors told the committee about a newborn being fed to guard dogs, executions of starving prisoners for scrounging for edible plants in the dirt, the torture of Christians and more.

The gulags "are as terrible, or even worse" than Nazi camps, renowned jurist Thomas Buergenthal, who survived Auschwitz and serves on the committee, told The Washington Post.

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Photo Credit: DigitalGlobe via Getty Images

Ala. Dad Makes Emotional Appeal: Don't Vote for Roy Moore

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Standing outside of a Roy Moore rally in Midland City on the eve of Alabama’s special Senate election, peanut farmer Nathan Mathis held a photo of his daughter and a sign with a message for voters: Please don’t vote for Moore.

Mathis’ daughter, Patti Sue Mathis, died by suicide when she was 23 because "she was tired of being ridiculed and made fun of," for being gay, he wrote in an open letter to the Dothan Eagle, a local Alabama newspaper, in 2012.

Speaking to NBC News’ Vaughn Hillyard, Mathis condemned Moore’s past comments on homosexuality while revealing he too was once anti-gay. "I said bad things to my daughter, which I regret,” Mathis lamented.

"Judge Roy Moore called her a pervert for one reason: because she was gay," Mathis said. "If he called her a pervert, he called your child a pervert if she was gay or if your son was gay. This is something people need to stop and think about. He’s supposed to uphold the Constitution. The Constitution said all men are created equal. Well, how’s my daughter a pervert just because she was gay?”

He continued, "He didn’t call my daughter by name, but he said all gay people are perverts, abominations. That’s not true. We don’t need a person like that representing us in Washington. That’s why I’m here."

The Wicksburg resident's sign noted "a 32-year-old Roy Moore dated teenage girls ages 14 to 17. So that makes him a pervert of the worst kind," a reference to allegations by several women that Moore made sexual advances toward the when they were teenagers. Moore has denied the accusations.

Moore has a long history of making anti-LGBTQ statements, including saying homosexuality should be illegal and that “homosexual behavior is a crime against nature, an inherent evil, and an act so heinous that it defies one’s ability to describe it.”

He was also removed from his state’s Supreme Court for urging state probate judges to refuse marriage licenses to same-sex couples after the U.S. Supreme Court effectively legalized it.



Photo Credit: @VaughnHillyard
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