The Slatest

Xeni Jardin Accuses Former Sen. Birch Bayh of Sexual Assault Years Ago

Actress Holly Hunter and former Sen. Birch Bayh attend a news conference defending Title IX in 2003 on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Linda Spillers/Getty Images

In a series of jarring tweets Wednesday afternoon, blogger and co-editor of the tech site Boing Boing Xeni Jardin alleged that former Indiana Sen. Birch Bayh, the father of current senatorial candidate Evan Bayh, sexually assaulted her years ago before a pitch meeting for a startup she was employed at.*

Bayh is perhaps best known for his advocacy for Title IX, which bans federal funding for educational programs that discriminate based on sex, and his support of the Equal Rights Amendment, a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at constitutionally mandating the equal treatment of women, during the 1970s.

Evan Bayh announced Wednesday morning that he would seek to reclaim the Senate seat he vacated in 2011, when he opted not to run for a third term in office.

*Update, July 13, 2016, 4:40 p.m.: The lede and headline of this post have been updated to reflect the fact that the alleged incident occurred, in Jardin’s words, “many years ago” and that she was on staff at the startup in question.