(SPRINGFIELD, Mo.) Meet Jennifer Case. 35 year old, military wife. Her husband is serving in Afghanistan. Full-time mother of three.
Case worked in the food service industry in the Springfield area for years. During that time, she says she had numerous encounters with Billy Long, who is now running for U.S. Congress in the seventh district.
Case, in a letter obtained by TFJ (link at bottom), alleges Long to be “demeaning to women and people of color” during that time.
“I witnessed Mr. Long refuse service from a person of color and one server he suspected was homosexual, calling him a ‘swisher.’ Mr. Long refused to have this individual even walk near his table,” she alleged.
“I recall Mr. Long saying, ‘We need to take back this country from the niggers and women running it… that’s the problem in D.C.”’, Case alleged.
“My feelings are that people with completely closed minds to people of other color, race, gender, and sexual orientation should not hold a position as important as U.S. Congressman,” she said.
Case also talked about a restaurant she said Long would often go to after hours.
“On several occasions, he and his friends would close down the grill after returning from Las Vegas and bring in strippers from a local strip club to entertain themselves. Nights like these involved gambling, strippers, and reports of inappropriate contact with staff and underage drinking by some staff,” she said. Case told TFJ the gambling was illegal.
“On several occasions, staff were threatened with their jobs should anything be disclosed,” she alleged.
The validity of the claims are a little unclear. While many will off the record confirm events like this were happening, few will attach their name to the claims. Case says many were asked to sign confidentiality agreements with the restaurant.
Nobody directly mentioned will talk about it, either.
Case said she wasn’t doing this to get back with anybody.
“I felt it my duty to uphold American ideals here at home, just like my husband is doing thousands of miles away,” she said.
The Long campaign did not not immediately respond with comment regarding this story.
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Read the letter here. [PDF].
TFJ learned about these allegations early last week, but was waiting on permission from Mrs. Case and some sort of confirmation from other sources.
