Tammy Murphy told demonstrators in the Morristown, N.J., march that she was assaulted in college.
The new first lady of New Jersey, who was among the hundreds of thousands of attendees at Women's Marches nationwide and around the globe, took the opportunity to share her experience of sexual assault with the crowd.
Tammy Murphy, wife of Chris Christie's Democrat successor, Phil Murphy, recalled her college trauma to marchers in Morristown, N.J.
A University of Virginia graduate and mother of four, Murphy said she was walking along a path when a man grabbed her and pulled her into the bushes, CBS New York reports.
The man tried to take her clothes off and attempted to put a crabapple in her mouth to silence her, Murphy said.
Murphy recalled she was able to bite her attacker's hand and flee, half-dressed, to a nearby fraternity house, where students called police.
Because of “attitudes of the time," Murphy said the attacker was not charged.
“Until today, only a few have heard my story,” Murphy told the crowd. “Now, you all know. I tell this today not for me, but really for all of you. Surely, among us is a woman who has been silent about her own story.”
The Morristown rally was among dozens across America, where — as they did in 2017 — women and their allies showed up by the thousands a year after President Trump's inauguration and in support of the growing #metoo movement.
In Los Angeles, Mayor Eric Garcetti's office said a whopping 600,000 people marched. Celebrities including Eva Longoria, Natalie Portman, Viola Davis, Alfre Woodard and Scarlett Johansson were among speakers at the event.
Chicago's march saw about 300,000 attendees while the third largest rally was in Trump's hometown of New York, where city officials believe about 200,000 marched.
While many saw the high turnout as a sign that women's voices are being heard, the president chose to frame it as evidence that his policies are working for them.
"Beautiful weather all over our great country, a perfect day for all Women to March. Get out there now to celebrate the historic milestones and unprecedented economic success and wealth creation that has taken place over the last 12 months. Lowest female unemployment in 18 years!" Trump tweeted Saturday.
In response to the president's unique take on the marches, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi tweeted: "Who wants to tell him?"
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