Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore made his first public appearance in nearly two weeks amid multiple allegations that he groped, harassed and pursued underage girls in the 1980s.
During a rally Monday night, Moore again denied all accusations against him to a crowd of around 200 supporters. The Republican candidate said that the allegations are “malicious” and “false attacks,” adding that his family has also been attacked in the process.
“Just two and a half weeks ago, allegations about sexual misconduct about something that allegedly happened over 40 years old was brought out,” Moore said. “Now, I want to tell you first this hurts me personally because besides my wife and my mother and my only daughter, we have five granddaughters. It hurts to think that people would attack your character like that after 40 years.”
The 70-year-old, who is a former judge, has been accused of sexually assaulting and harassing teenagers and young women as an adult.
He added that he understands just how serious these allegations are since he used to serve as a judge and prosecutor.
“Now just two weeks remaining [in the campaign], pictures of young children, whose names are not mentioned and who I do not know, appear conveniently on the opposition’s ads,” he said. “These allegations are completely false, they’re malicious; specifically, I do not know any of these women nor have I ever engaged in sexual misconduct with anyone.”
Moore referred to the sexual misconduct allegations as “simply dirty politics,” adding that it’s “a sign of the immorality of our time.” Moore’s comments were met with a round of applause.