Woman Who Shared Emotional Story In Dr. Oz Event Was Paid Staffer

The campaign team for GOP Senate candidate in Pennsylvania Mehmet Oz apparently misled reporters by not disclosing that a woman who participated in an event and shared her emotional testimony about losing family members to gun violence was a paid staffer for Oz’s team.

In September, Sheila Armstrong, a black woman, appeared at a town hall in a church in Philadelphia and described the fatal shootings of her brother and nephew.

The moment was captured by local reporters and national media outlets.

Weeks after the event, Brendan McPhillips, who manages the campaign of Dr. Oz’s Democratic opponent, John Fetterman, posted on Twitter a screenshot of a business card Armstrong had posted on Instagram identifying her as Oz’s Philadelphia County Coordinator.

Readers, and Pennsylvanians with their lives on the line in this election deserve much better, @AP.

Looking forward to a retraction… pic.twitter.com/E3SjHlMiuo

— Brendan McPhillips (@BrendanMcP) October 11, 2022

Federal Election Commission records filed by Oz’s campaign also show that Armstrong is the recipient of two payments described as “payroll”. The total amount is $2,181.82.

Reporters who covered the event told The Intercept, which first reported this case, that they were unaware of Armstrong role as a campaign staffer when they captured the moment, which illustrated the battle for black voters in the final weeks until Election Day.

Cory Clark, one of the journalists who were at the scene, shared a video of Armstrong confronting Fetterman’s supporters in front of the church where the event took place and claiming she also invited Fetterman to a conversation, but he had rejected the invitation.