The U.S. Senate race between Senator Marco Rubio and Rep. Val Demings is arguably one of the most contentious contests in the country, as Senator Rubio continues to paint Rep. Demings as an “extremist” who sympathizes with the current Progressive ideology and Democratic Socialists in the U.S. Congress.
Sen. Rubio has stated that Floridians will know "the real Val Demings."
Rep. Demings, who has for the most part been able to avoid media since announcing her run against Rubio, may have just helped Rubio make the case that she does directly or indirectly support radical extremism.
In a group of images that Demings posted on Twitter, Demings is seen posing for a picture outside of her Washington, D.C. office with members of the progressive activist group Alianza for Progress, and Melissa Mark-Viverito (identified in the image below and in the main image), who in 2014 praised and expressed her unwavering support for “imprisoned and unrepentant terrorist leader of the Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional, or the FALN,” Oscar López Rivera.
"Pleased today to meet with representatives from @AlianzaProgress to discuss Puerto Rico and its future. No matter what path that future takes, we must put the people first," stated Demings.
Jorge Bonilla, Director of MRC Latino, retweeted Demings, offering a “pro-tip” to Demings, suggesting that she not allow herself to be “photographed with someone who marched a convicted terrorist down 5th Ave. as a "national liberation hero."
“Pro-tip, kids: if you are engaging the Puerto Rican community while running to represent the Free State of Florida in the U.S. Senate, DO NOT allow yourself to be photographed with someone who marched a convicted terrorist down 5th Ave. as a "national liberation hero," tweeted Bonilla
Pro-tip, kids: if you are engaging the Puerto Rican community while running to represent the Free State of Florida in the U.S. Senate, DO NOT allow yourself to be photographed with someone who marched a convicted terrorist down 5th Ave. as a "national liberation hero". 😬 https://t.co/3KNBCghogq
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) April 29, 2022
“This is a historic moment because we are seeing convergence and a momentum on the campaign for Oscar that really gives me a lot of hope and inspiration,” said Mark-Viverito in support of Rivera during a press conference shortly after that year’s New York Puerto Rican Day parade.
The FALN has taken credit for the Jan. 24, 1975 bombing in New York City that killed four and wounded 50 more.
The terrorist group also exploded bombs years later in Brooklyn and Manhattan that seriously injured several New York City Police officers.
One of those bombs was strategically placed at the rear entrance of One Police Plaza in Manhattan, causing one officer to lose his leg below the knee.
One of those FALN blasts erupted shortly before 10 p.m., at the rear entrance of One Police Plaza, when Officer Rocco Pascarella, 33, encountered a bomb planted inside a Kentucky Fried Chicken box that cost him a leg just below the knee.
“Two NYPD Bomb Squad detectives, Richard Pastorella, 42, and Anthony Senft, 36, were badly maimed by a separate FALN bomb that blew up a short time later nearby.”- New York Post
Lopez had his prison sentence commuted by former President Barack Obama before leaving office.
