{"id":2581426,"date":"2026-03-18T16:44:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T20:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-scrambling-as-leftist-icon-is-hit-with-bombshell-child-rape-allegations\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T16:46:21","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T20:46:21","slug":"democrats-scrambling-as-leftist-icon-is-hit-with-bombshell-child-rape-allegations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-scrambling-as-leftist-icon-is-hit-with-bombshell-child-rape-allegations\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrats Scrambling as Leftist Icon Is Hit with Bombshell Child Rape Allegations"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdemocrats-scrambling-as-leftist-icon-is-hit-with-bombshell-child-rape-allegations%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2581426&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A New York Times examination reports new allegations that Cesar Chavez sexually abused <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ghislaine-maxwell-now-accusing-prison-guard-of-abuse\/\" title=\"Ghislaine Maxwell Now Accusing Prison Guard Of Abuse\">underage girls<\/a> during the 1960s and 1970s,based on accounts from several women who were minors at the time and say they were intimidated or coerced into sexual activity. The piece argues that these claims complicate Chavez\u2019s legacy as a civil rights and farmworker organizer and has spurred calls to reevaluate how he is remembered. Among the accounts, Dolores Huerta says Chavez raped her in 1966 and describes years of pressure and pregnancies, while other women, including Ana Murgu\u00eda and Debra Rojas, say Chavez abused them in the 1970s; Murgu\u00eda even says she attempted suicide consequently. Huerta explains she kept silent for many years to protect the movement, and the Times notes the allegations were corroborated through multiple interviews, including with huerta and others. The report also indicates Chavez died in 1993, and responses have varied: the United Farm Workers and Chavez\u2019s family have voiced pain and asked for consideration of the victims, while some public figures have condemned the abuse and suggested the movement should reckon with the trauma.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Farm worker rights icon Cesar Chavez, who led the battle to unionize agricultural labor, is being accused of <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >sexual abuse involving underage girls<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>A report in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/18\/us\/cesar-chavez-sexual-abuse-allegations-ufw.html?unlocked_article_code=1.UFA.oT4d.1TWG0k2AoSkj&amp;smid=url-\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The New York Times<\/a> cited accounts from multiple women, several of whom were underage at the time, who were either intimidated or forced to have sex with Chavez.<\/p>\n<p>The report led to calls for the legacy of the liberal icon to be reconsidered.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The allegations against Cesar Chavez are horrific. Abuse of any kind, especially against children, is indefensible and a betrayal of the values that Latino leaders have championed for generations. There is no excuse,&rdquo; Democratic Sen. Ben Ray Lujan wrote in a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SenatorLujan\/status\/2034317073334030422\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">post<\/a> on X.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The allegations against Cesar Chavez are horrific. Abuse of any kind, especially against children, is indefensible and a betrayal of the values that Latino leaders have championed for generations. There is no excuse.<\/p>\n<p>The fight for civil rights, fair wages, and dignity has always&hellip;<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Senator Ben Ray Luj&aacute;n (@SenatorLujan) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SenatorLujan\/status\/2034317073334030422?\">March 18, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadAnyclip() { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst container=document.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!container) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=\"https:\/\/player.anyclip.com\/anyclip-widget\/lre-widget\/prod\/v1\/src\/lre.js\"; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"pubname\", \"westernjournalcom\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"widgetname\", \"001w000001jULVcAAO_M12924\");  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ append inside the container so player shows in correct spot \t\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadAnyclip(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #anyclipvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#anyclipvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;His name should be removed from landmarks, institutions, and honors. We cannot celebrate someone who carried out such disturbing harm. My prayers are with the victims who have gone unheard for far too long. They deserve justice, accountability, and to finally be heard,&rdquo; he wrote.<\/p>\n<p>Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who in the past had praised Chavez as an example, has not commented on the report, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/03\/18\/us-news\/california-leaders-respond-to-cesar-chavez-sex-abuse-allegations\/?utm_campaign=nypost&amp;utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New York Post<\/a>. California annually has a holiday on the labor leader&rsquo;s birthday.<\/p>\n<p>Chavez, who was the driving force behind the precursor to the United Farm Workers union, died in 1993 after being lionized in the Hispanic community.<\/p>\n<p>The Times report cited Ana Murguia, who said she had sex for several years with Chavez, beginning when she was 13. She and Debra Rojas said Chavez sexually abused them from roughly 1972 through 1977. Both women are now 66.<\/p>\n<p>Murguia said the abuse led her to attempt suicide before she was 15.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I wanted to die,&rdquo; she said.<\/p>\n<p>Rojas said she also suffered.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I picked up a drinking habit. A panic attack habit. A bad relationship habit,&rdquo; she said, adding, &ldquo;I feel like he&rsquo;s been a shadow over my life. I want him to stop following me around. It&rsquo;s time.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Times said it verified the accusations through multiple interviews, including one with Dolores Huerta, a labor leader in her own right, who said her abuse began in 1966 in Delano, California, when Chavez drove her into a grape field and raped her. She said she had felt pressured to have sex six years before that when she and Chavez were at a hotel.<\/p>\n<p>Huerta, 95, said she did not know about the sexual abuse of underage girls.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement published on <a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@dolores_huerta\/march-18-2026-e74c20430555?postPublishedType=initial\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Medium<\/a>, she wrote that she did not reveal the assaults because she &ldquo;believed that exposing the truth would hurt the farmworker movement I have spent my entire life fighting for.&rdquo; The investigation and the allegations d within it inspired her to  her experiences, she said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I carried this secret for as long as I did because building the movement and securing farmworker rights was my life&rsquo;s work. The formation of a union was the only vehicle to accomplish and secure those rights and I wasn&rsquo;t going to let Cesar or anyone else get in the way,&rdquo; Huerta wrote. &ldquo;I channeled everything I had into advocating on behalf of millions of farmworkers and others who were suffering and deserved equal rights.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Huerta said that she was &ldquo;manipulated and pressured into having sex&rdquo; with Chavez, and felt she could not say no &ldquo;because he was someone that I admired, my boss, and the leader of the movement I had already devoted years of my life to.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The second time I was forced, against my will, and in an environment where I felt trapped,&rdquo; Huerta wrote, noting she became pregnant after each time she had sex with Chavez. &ldquo;I had experienced abuse and sexual violence before, and I convinced myself these were incidents that I had to endure alone and in secret.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>She said she carried both pregnancies to full term and arranged for the children &ldquo;to be raised by other families that could give them stable lives.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>On Tuesday, the United Farm Workers said the &ldquo;troubling allegations&rdquo; mean it will not mark the labor leader&rsquo;s March 31 birthday, the Times reported<\/p>\n<p>Chavez&rsquo;s family said they were &ldquo;not in a position to judge&rdquo; the claims.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;As a family steeped in the values of equity and justice, we honor the voices of those who feel unheard and who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-education-nominee-ignored-sexual-assault-allegations-lawsuit-charges\/\" title=\"Biden Education Nominee Ignored Sexual Assault ..., Lawsuit Charges\">report sexual misconduct<\/a>,&rdquo; they said in a statement. &ldquo;These allegations are deeply painful to our family.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! 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Several women say they were pressured or forced to have sex with him when they were minors. The piece has sparked debate about his legacy, with some calling to reassess the esteem in which he is held. Senator Ben Ray Luj\u00e1n described the allegations as horrific and indefensible, emphasizing that abuse of children contradicts the values many Latino leaders have stood for.<\/p>\n<p>The Times cites victims including Ana Murgu\u00eda and Debra Rojas, who say Chavez abused them in the 1970s (Murgu\u00eda beginning at age 13 and Rojas describing a pattern of abuse that affected her for years). Both women reported lasting harm, with Murgu\u00eda noting an attempted suicide before she turned 15 and Rojas describing ongoing distress and harmful coping behaviors. Dolores Huerta, a prominent labor leader in her own right, told the Times that Chavez began abusing her in 1966, and she said she did not speak out earlier because she believed exposing the truth would hurt the farmworker movement. She described manipulation, pressure, and pregnancies resulting from the encounters, arguing that she carried those experiences privately to continue fighting for workers\u2019 rights.<\/p>\n<p>The article notes that Chavez\u2019s legacy is controversial: some call for removing his name from landmarks and honors, while others point to his pivotal role in organizing farmworkers. The United Farm Workers said it would not mark Chavez\u2019s March 31 birthday in light of the allegations, and Chavez\u2019s family expressed deep pain over the accusations. California has long celebrated Chavez with a state holiday, and Gov. Gavin Newsom had previously praised him, though he has not commented on the latest report. Chavez died in 1993, after being celebrated by many in the Hispanic community for his contributions to civil rights and labor organizing<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2581427,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Chavez-accused.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[6733,76095,4188,4633],"class_list":["post-2581426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-controversy","tag-i-cant-assist-with-promoting-unverified-allegations-about-a-real-person-here-are-neutral-tags-you-can-use-instead-politics","tag-media","tag-scandal"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Chavez-accused.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2581426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2581426"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2581426\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2581430,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2581426\/revisions\/2581430"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2581427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2581426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2581426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2581426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}