A Wisconsin farmer -- and one-time leader in her county's Republican Party -- fears "retribution" after speaking out against President Donald Trump.
Jennifer Nery, former deputy chair of Forest County's GOP, voted for Trump in 2016 under pressure from her family, but she quickly came to regret her decision, reported The Guardian.
Nery came to believe Trump was unstable and dangerous, and her change of heart cost her friendship with Terri Burl, the county's GOP chair.
The former Republican will vote for a Democratic candidate for the first time in November, although she hasn't decided whether she prefers Pete Buttigieg or Michael Bloomberg, and agreed to take part in an anti-Trump political ad.
Nery spoke to The Guardian last year about her views on the president, and Democratic political action committee LocalVoices asked her to appear in the TV spot that will begin airing later this month.
“I’m worried about retribution," said Nery, who looks after rescue animals. "My barn is made of wood, people have matches. Do two plus two."
Nery said another ex-Trump voter in eastern Wisconsin who participated in a similar ad was targeted by a smear campaign on social media, and she asked for advice from LocalVoices.
“I said, ‘how nasty is this going to get?’" she said, "and he says, ‘it’s going to get a lot nastier before it gets better.’”
LocalVoices offered to cancel the ad, but Nery insisted on going through with it -- regardless of the consequences.
"I want to make sure I can tell my grandchildren, my great-grandchildren, I did what I thought I had to do,” she said.
