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*The following article contains discussion of sexual assault.
GOP candidate for Michigan's state House of Representatives, Robert "RJ" Regan, revealed a shocking fact during a Facebook Live stream. He has told his daughters to simply "lie back and enjoy" being raped if the assault is "inevitable."
Regan was discussing his ideas on how to decertify the 2020 election with host Adam de Angeli of the Rescue Michigan Coalition when he made the bizarre comment. Rescue Michigan Coalition is a right-wing group whose stated goals include election reforms and "Re-opening our state once and for all by putting an end to the last law the governor has relied on to act as a dictator: the public health code."
Only a short way into the stream, Regan said:
"Having three daughters, I tell my daughters, ‘Well, if rape is inevitable, you should just lie back and enjoy it. That’s not how we roll, that’s not how we won this election."
Following his remark, fellow stream attendee Amber Harris called Regan's statement "a shameful comment."
The host then joked the stream might not go on "for much longer after what Robert said."
You can view the whole stream below:
One of the aforementioned daughters actually told people not to vote for her father during his 2020 bid for the seat he is running for again. He won the primary by only 81 votes this year, but lost it in 2020.
Stephanie Regan tweeted at the time:
"If you’re in Michigan and 18+ pls for the love of God do not vote for my dad for state rep. Tell everyone."
She clarified further the next day, saying her father was Robert Regan, later confirming her identity to Daily Dot:
"I don’t feel safe rn sharing further information regarding his beliefs, but please look him up and just read for yourself."
The host of the show, Adam de Angeli, later tried to defend Regan by claiming he misspoke.
The host of the show, Adam de Angeli, tells me he believes Regan "misspoke," trying to say that not contesting the election *would be like* telling his daughters to lay back and enjoy rape. \n\n"Maybe not the best analogy," de Angeli said, "but he was speaking extemporaneously."https://twitter.com/rossjonesWXYZ/status/1500889244637798400\u00a0\u2026— Ross Jones (@Ross Jones) 1646680549
Yeah no. He said what he said and he meant it.— Accountability isn't cancelling\ud83c\udf3b \ud83c\udf08 \ud83d\udc31\ud83e\udd50 \ud83c\udfa7 (@Accountability isn't cancelling\ud83c\udf3b \ud83c\udf08 \ud83d\udc31\ud83e\udd50 \ud83c\udfa7) 1646681248
Nah, this isn\u2019t one of those \u201cout of context\u201d comments. It was flat out inappropriate. The fact that someone would even try to justify it is all the more disturbing.— Tim Castle (@Tim Castle) 1646681591
The criticism of Regan on social media was practically palpable.
In 2020, Robert RJ Regan\u2019s daughter\u2019s campaigned against him. Now, he won a four-way GOP special election in Kent County, Michigan. He tells his daughters to \u2018lie back and enjoy\u2019 if rape is inevitable. Claims the Ukraine war is a \u201cfake war like the fake pandemic.\u201d He is the GOP.pic.twitter.com/ef3DgEQwmt— Hoodlum \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Hoodlum \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1646840663
Robert "RJ" Regan is a Republican who won a special election. Also, he said:\n\n"Having three daughters, I tell my daughters, 'If rape is inevitable, you should just lie back and enjoy it.'" \n\nIn a previous election, his daughter tweeted:\n\nReagan blames left-wing media for both.pic.twitter.com/xnFp8lMcc0— flexghost. (@flexghost.) 1646748834
Can you even REMOTELY IMAGINE hearing something so absolutely vile from the man who's supposed to raise and protect you??— \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6DOGANANDA\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83d\udc15\u200d\ud83e\uddba (@\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6DOGANANDA\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83d\udc15\u200d\ud83e\uddba) 1646841330
Saying victims of rape should \u201clie back and enjoy it\u201d is not a slip of the tongue. It is a violent and dangerous admission of a person\u2019s character. \n\nWhen someone shows you who they are, believe them. We can see exactly who RJ Regan is.https://twitter.com/jonathanoosting/status/1500963694209077248\u00a0\u2026— MIProgressiveWomen (@MIProgressiveWomen) 1646698437
In addition to his weird comments on sexual assault, Regan also went on to defend Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
"Putin said, ‘I have to protect my country, I have to protect my children, and I can’t count on the United States.'"
He referred to a QAnon conspiracy theory about bioweapons in Ukraine as his reasoning.
"So what he did was took some proactive action, he went into Ukraine, knocked out the bio labs, knocked out the missile sites, so he can protect his people."
But even other Michigan Republicans are condemning Regan for his words.
Michigan Freedom Fund's Tori Sachs had strong words of ciriticism for him in a statement to Fox 17:
"RJ Regan’s disgusting and dehumanizing comments on the horror of sexual assault along with his support of murderous dictator Vladimir Putin are despicable and completely disqualify him from holding public office. I teach my four young daughters to stand up for themselves, to know their worth, and to fight back and speak out against creeps like Regan."
"RJ Regan doesn’t belong anywhere near the state Capitol, and that is why we endorsed and supported his opponent."
Regan's future in the state legislature will be determined in the November midterm election.
**
If you or someone you know experienced sexual assault, help is out there. You can reach the RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline by calling 1-800-656-4673, use their Live Chat tool: https://www.rainn.org/get-help, or visit the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.
In Canada, help is available through the Ending Violence Association of Canada website.
International resources can be found through the Rape Crisis Network Europewebsite.