Left-wing activists planned to harass Sen. Kyrsten Sinema while she runs Boston Marathon: report

As if harassing her by following her into a bathroom stall at Arizona State University wasn't enough, left-wing protesters planned to further torment Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) during her Boston Marathon run on Monday.

What are the details?

According to a recent Boston Globe report, progressive activists from Arizona and Massachusetts planned to gather at the event holding signs berating the moderate senator over her refusal to support the Biden administration's massive spending plan. Here's more from the report:

Activists from a group known as the Green New Deal Network plan to confront Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who has qualified to run in the marathon, over her refusal to commit to supporting the $3.5 trillion Build Back Better Act, the group said Saturday.

The Green New Deal Network, a coalition of 15 national organizations, said in a statement that activists plan on "bird-dogging" Sinema during the marathon in an effort to pressure her on the issue.

Bird-dogging is a "protesting tactic in which activists confront a politician at an unexpected time or place," the Washington Examiner explained. The obvious goal of the tactic is to pressure a target toward a specific outcome. In this case, activists hope to hound the lawmaker until she changes her political stance on the spending plan.

The Green New Deal Network reportedly did not respond to the Boston Globe's requests for comment.

At least one photo of protesters at the event has since emerged on social media. The AZ Working Families Party showed up at the marathon with signs and the apparent intent to find Sinema.

What's the background?

Sinema and fellow moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) have faced constant pressure from the liberal wing of the Democratic Party to support the president's $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill, which features major funding for climate-conscious initiatives.

Last week, members of an organization known as Living United for Change in Arizona accosted Sinema at ASU, where she is a lecturer. The group confronted her in a classroom before following her into a restroom, even continuing to yell at her after she entered a stall.

"We knocked on doors for you to get you elected. And, just how we got you elected, we can get you out of office if you don't support what you promised us," one of the activists threatened.

The eye-opening harassment quickly garnered national attention, yet President Joe Biden responded to the situation by brushing it off, saying, "It happens to everybody."

Similarly, left-wing feminist website Jezebel celebrated the harassment and justified further attacks against the lawmaker.