The leading contender for Nancy Pelosi’s California congressional seat has addressed two heated public confrontations with pro-Palestinian activists that took place in San Francisco this week.
State Sen. Scott Wiener said he was “harassed, threatened, and physically intimidated” in separate incidents, both of which were recorded on video.
The first encounter happened Wednesday at a bar in San Francisco’s Mission District, where a pro-Palestinian activist confronted Wiener and repeatedly pressed him to say “Free Palestine.”
Video from the incident showed Wiener, who is Jewish, seated and largely silent as the man continued directing accusations at him.
“He screamed abuse at me and our staff before being ejected by the bar’s employees,” Wiener said in a statement Saturday.
“After being ejected, the man remained outside the bar, shouting my name and pounding on the side of the bar near where I was sitting for several minutes. The same individual, in December 2023, stalked me on a plane and in an airport, shouting at me about my ‘tainted bloodline.’”
A second confrontation unfolded Friday in San Francisco’s Dolores Park, where Wiener was filmed being followed and shouted at by a group ahead of the city’s annual Trans March.
In footage of that incident, the person recording initially praised Wiener, who is gay, for his work on “trans issues” before abruptly shifting into a sharp verbal attack.
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“You’ve been terrible, you’ve been terrible on Gaza,” a person yells. “You do not belong here anymore, Scott.”
As the clip continues, activists are seen surrounding Wiener — with one sticking a middle finger in his face as he avoids engaging with the crowd.
Wiener said the agitators “began harassing me, both verbally and physically, including physical contact” and “made statements about my ‘Israeli handlers,’ among many other inaccurate, extreme, and vile statements.”
He said he took no issue “anyone disagreeing with me, opposing me, or protesting me,” but “when opposition and disagreement transition to harassment, including cornering me, touching me, or trying to physically bully me out of a public event, that crosses a line.”
“We’re living in a time when violence is all too often threatened or used against people in public life,” Wiener added. “In San Francisco, we’re better than that.”
The state senator previously stopped short of calling Israel’s actions in Gaza a “genocide,” but changed course in January after refusing to call out Israel during a debate.
“For those of you who saw the debate clip from last week, I want to clarify that I do believe Israel has committed genocide in Gaza,” he said at the time. “To me the Israeli government has tried to destroy Gaza and to push Palestinians out. And that qualifies as genocide.”
Wiener advanced to the general election for California’s 11th congressional district with 41% of the vote over Pelosi-endorsed candidate Connie Chan, who managed 29%, in the June primary.
He will face off against the San Francisco supervisor in November.
