Dem congressional candidate accused of sex harassment blames Israel lobby for 'hit job'

A former campaign worker has sued a progressive Democratic challenger to Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX), accusing him of making unwanted sexual advances toward her after she complained about another staffer sexually harassing female campaign workers.

The lawsuit accuses Pervez Agwan of assault, battery and false imprisonment.

Agwan, contacted Monday by the Houston Landing, issued a statement calling the lawsuit a "dishonest hit-job" and appeared to blame it on the national lobbying group American Israel Public Affairs Committee known as AIPAC.

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“We are witnessing a politically motivated lawsuit that is part of an orchestrated smear campaign. These allegations are unequivocally false. Our campaign retained an independent party to do a thorough investigation many weeks back. There is no evidence to support any allegation in the lawsuit. This is a dishonest hit-job and we will fight tooth and nail against anyone attempting to derail our grassroots, people-powered campaign.”

The statement continues: “My campaign is the only campaign in the state of Texas that is directly taking on the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). I will not back down against the dirty lobbies coming after our movement."

Asked for evidence of the alleged smear campaign, Agwan texted links to news articles about his advocacy against the Israeli invasion of Gaza, adding “we are the only pro-Palestine congressional campaign in the state.” Agwan later reiterated that his campaign believes the lawsuit is a “smear and hit job” without providing additional information.

The lawsuit was filed in a Harris County state district court on Friday by former Agwan for Congress campaign worker Maha Chishtey, who is seeking up to $2 million in damages.

Agwan is running for the newly redrawn Texas 7th Congressional District, the seat currently occupied by Fletcher.

The lawsuit details an Oct. 17 encounter in which Chishtey says Agwan summoned her to campaign headquarters, where he was waiting for her alone. Chishtey alleges that following a long conversation, Agwan put his hands on her and attempted to kiss her, according to the lawsuit.

The suit states that when Chishtey declined Agwan’s advances, he prevented her from leaving the office. After “what seemed like an eternity,” Chishtey was allowed to leave the office and resigned from the campaign shortly after, according to the lawsuit.

AIPAC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The lawsuit alleges the Oct. 17 incident occurred two weeks after Chishtey complained to Agwan that the campaign’s organizing director, Angelo Perlera, had made inappropriate remarks and inappropriately touched young female campaign staffers.

Attempts to reach Perlera on Monday were unsuccessful, but the Agwan campaign statement also serves as a response to the allegations against the organizing director, Agwan wrote in a text.

Houston-based employment attorney Melissa Moore, who represents Chishtey, said her client has not filed a police report about the incident. She also denied any link between the lawsuit and AIPAC.

“I represent a former employee of the campaign who was a victim,” Moore said. “I’ve practiced in this space for 23 years. … We take our commitment to our clients who have been mistreated very seriously.”

Chishtey has not filed a police report about the incident, Moore said.

According to the lawsuit, Chishtey began working for the campaign as an unpaid volunteer in July of this year. She was hired as a paid staffer in August.

Agwan is running to represent Texas’ 7th Congressional District. He filed to run in the Democratic primary against Fletcher on Nov. 16, according to the Texas Secretary of State.

Fletcher’s campaign declined to comment.

TX-07 was redrawn by the Texas Legislature in the most recent round of redistricting and spans Fort Bend County, stretching eastward to Montrose and the Heights in Houston.

Agwan is running as a progressive, arguing Fletcher is too moderate. He has been outspoken on the issue of Israel and Palestine for months, predating the Oct. 7 start of the current war.

“It’s not just about the Palestinian issue. People need to recognize AIPAC challenges anybody who wants lobbyist money out of politics,” Agwan said in an interview with The Progressive Magazine published Monday. “Their very existence is detrimental to democracy.”

Agwan graduated from Texas A&M University in 2014 and received a master’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2021, according to his social media pages. Agwan lists his occupation as an engineer per campaign filing records.

He’s been active for months in organizing around progressive issues in Houston, including a protest against the fossil fuel industry during an energy conference earlier this year. He also was involved in organizing against Houston City Council’s at-large seats and potential civil rights violations against Latinos in the city.

Reporter Akhil Ganesh contributed to this story.

This article first appeared on Houston Landing and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.