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U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher’s campaign on Friday suggested her primary opponent was behind fake text messages sent to voters in Congressional District 7 touting her support from a pro-Israel lobbying group less than two weeks before early voting begins.
A statement from Fletcher’s campaign implied the fake texts, which celebrate Israel’s “right to defend itself against terrorists,” originated with her opponent Pervez Agwan’s campaign or his supporters.
“These text messages misappropriating the Congresswoman’s name and likeness are deceitful, misleading, and an unlawful attempt to confuse and influence voters in the Democratic primary election,” Fletcher campaign Political Director Collin Steele wrote in a statement. “Our campaign is exploring options to address this egregious misconduct. Whether this attempt to disrupt American democracy is coming from the Agwan campaign, his supporters, or somewhere else, it must stop immediately.”
The texts claim to be coming from Fletcher’s campaign and celebrates an endorsement she actually has received: that of the campaign arm of pro-Israel lobbying group the Israel American Public Affairs Committee. Fletcher lists the endorsement on her campaign website.Â
The Federal Communications Commission bars political text messages from misrepresenting their source.
Agwan on Friday denied any connection between the texts and his campaign.
“AIPAC not only attempts but succeeds in disrupting American Democracy every single day, and Congresswoman Fletcher has benefitted from their dark money and independent spending in this race,” Agwan wrote in a statement. “Before she accuses our campaign of wrongdoing, she should take a hard look at the radical pro-Israeli money machine that will stop at nothing to discredit me for her personal gain.”
Agwan, who calls himself a “proud progressive,” frequently has cited AIPAC as the source of negative press against his campaign.
He has made the war between Hamas and Israel and the plight of the broader Palestinian population central to his campaign.
After a former staffer accused Agwan and a senior member of his campaign of sexual misconduct in a lawsuit filed Dec. 1, the candidate blamed AIPAC for the lawsuit.
A day after Houston Landing broke the news of the lawsuit in December, a website was created anonymously that featured photos of the accuser, her home address and contact information for her and her parents. The website encouraged visitors to “tell her about karma,” describing her as “dirty and shameless.”
An attorney for the accuser blamed the website on Agwan at the time.
Two websites purporting to be news organizations were created in January that posted articles indicating Agwan’s innocence and claiming the accusers have ties to AIPAC. The accusers have denied any connection to the lobbying group.
After the Houston Landing published a Jan. 18 investigation into the accusations that found a mass resignation from the Agwan campaign of mostly female staff in late October and early November, an accuser quoted in the article was doxxed on the social media website X, formerly known as Twitter.
Agwan’s campaign has denied any connection to the fake websites and doxxing attempts.
The fake Fletcher texts were sent weeks after the New Hampshire attorney general’s office said it was investigating robocalls that used artificial intelligence to mimic President Joe Biden’s voice and discourage voters from participating in the state’s primary elections, and concerns about election interference are heightened around the country.
Early voting in the Democratic primary begins Feb. 20.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story stated that Fletcher had not publicly claimed the AIPAC endorsement this election cycle. Fletcher had included the endorsement in her reelection announcement.
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