ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A South Florida lawmaker is accusing a fellow Democratic legislator of bullying her at a meeting of party leaders, but the other lawmaker says the exchange is being mischaracterized.
Florida Rep. Anika Omphroy on Monday wrote a letter to the Florida House speaker saying that Rep. Carlos Smith lashed out at her with "verbal assaults."
Jose Oliva, the Republican House speaker, referred the matter for an investigation.
But Smith tweeted that the details in Omphroy's letter are false. The central Florida lawmaker says they had a tense conversation, but he is stunned and confused by her letter.
A witness, Rep. Anna Eskamani, says the encounter happened Saturday after Omphroy spoke out against a resolution encouraging broader financial disclosures.
Omphroy didn't respond to a call and email to her office.
.@RepOmphroy and I agree that we had a tense conversation about an important issue to both of us, but the details in her letter are simply false + did not occur. I walked away from the exchange, which happened in a public space in front of multiple elected officials with....1/3
— Rep. Carlos G Smith (@CarlosGSmith) February 11, 2019
a completely different understanding, which is why I was stunned and confused by her letter. I respect her + care about how we talk about these important issues together as colleagues.....2/3
— Rep. Carlos G Smith (@CarlosGSmith) February 11, 2019
I already reached out to @RepOmphroy and to the Speaker to have this dialogue + hope she is interested in doing it in a constructive way. 3/3
— Rep. Carlos G Smith (@CarlosGSmith) February 11, 2019
— Rep. Anika Omphroy (@RepOmphroy) February 11, 2019
