A Florida Democrat who ended her run for a seat in the state’s House of Representatives late last month admitted to authorities that her claim of being a medical doctor who treated Pulse nightclub shooting victims in Orlando wasn’t true, according to a charging affidavit released this week.
“I lied,” Elizabeth McCarthy told state investigators, Florida Politics reported. “It is a false statement.”
During her candidacy, McCarthy, 50, told people she was a doctor at Orlando Regional Medical Center and treated 32 victims of the 2016 massacre.
“I personally removed 77 bullets from 32 people … It was like an assembly line,” McCarthy claimed at a gun safety event earlier this year.
On at least two occasions, McCarthy was introduced at public events as “a doctor” by Democratic U.S. Rep. Darren Soto, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
“I just made it up,” she told investigators, adding that she was portraying a life she invented.
“I wanted to be somebody in the community, and I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m sorry that I gave any impersonation. I knew it was wrong and I should have stopped.” – READ MORE