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By all accounts, Tara Hart deserved none of this.

Fourteen years ago, police laid two domestic violence charges against Wab Kinew, now the leader of the Manitoba NDP. Hart, now in hiding, was named earlier this month as the alleged victim. She’s avoiding the vicious online backlash that came after she offered her account of what caused the pair’s separation.

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Hart did not seek the spotlight; she was approached by media and asked to comment on the allegations after court documents were leaked to the press during the party’s leadership race. For answering their questions, she now finds herself embroiled in an ugly political drama, her accusations a dark turn in what would otherwise have been a historic victory for a widely esteemed First Nations leader.

“I’m not into politics; I’d rather keep out of it,” Hart told APTN shortly before disappearing.

“It’s so long ago; it’s in the past. I didn’t want it to come out … I’m scared of his people that support him to come against me,” she said. “He has a lot of friends.”