A Chicago alderwoman is threatening legal action against a fellow City Council member, alleging he spread misinformation after a Chicago man was arrested with the killing of two Israeli embassy staff members in Washington, D.C.
Ald. Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez, who represents Chicago's 33rd Ward, alleges that social media posts made by 15th Ward Ald. Raymond Lopez have put her and her staff in danger.
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WATCH HERERodriguez Sanchez's attorneys sent a cease-and-desist letter Tuesday to Lopez, demanding he remove posts of a group photo that seemingly misidentifies Rodriguez-Sanchez's former Chief of Staff as the gunman in the D.C. shooting, Elias Rodriguez.
"I had to talk to so many reporters to make sure that the truth came out and that people understood that putting misinformation out there puts people in danger," Rodriguez-Sanchez said.
The alderwoman said she's faced a deluge of hate mail and disparaging posts since the shooting, and viewed Lopez's posts as an attempt to draw a connection between her staff and the gunman.
"I think that it is obvious what the alderman was trying to do, because the picture was shared multiple times and people pointed at [my former chief of staff] Chris as if he was the shooter," Rodriguez-Sanchez said.
Her attorneys allege the post and comments Lopez made have "caused direct harm, including endangering her and her staff's safety."
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Lopez told NBC Chicago he is not going to take down the social media posts.
"There's nothing in that post that ties them to anyone. They are making those connections," Lopez told NBC Chicago.
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SIGN UP Lopez said he's standing up for the Jewish community and what he said has been an "anti-Zionist" sentiment that he alleged has reared itself during council meetings following the start of the war in Gaza and during DNC protests in the streets of Chicago.
"My moral clarity on this subject is what's guiding me forward. I have no fear about what I have sown, because I'm on the right side of things, and I think history will see me through that," Lopez said.
Will the feud end up in court? Rodriguez-Sanchez isn't ready to say just yet.
She also wants to set the record straight that she does not know nor have any connection to Elias Rodriguez, the Chicago man charged in the D.C. shooting.
Her attorneys said she "unequivocally condemns the horrific murders he is alleged to have committed."
"This man has never volunteered (for me). He's not a member of my organization. I've never seen this man at any meetings," Rodriguez Sanchez said.
