DETROIT – Former state representative and Detroit mayoral candidate Lisa Howze is talking to Local 4 News reporter Shawn Ley about the terrifying break-in at her home Tuesday night.
"I had a long day and was upstairs in my bedroom reading." Howze says. "The mail was still in the mailbox and my porch light was out."
Howze tells Local 4 it was about 9 p.m., a few hours after she conducted a news conference in the city to endorse Mike Duggan for mayor.
"I heard thumping noises coming from downstairs and I thought, what is that?" Howze says.
In an instant, she heard a crash and knew exactly what was going on.
Neighbors spotted five men kicking in the back door to Howze's east side home and the men were entering her home.
Howze tells Local 4 she hid under the bed, not knowing what was going to happen next.
Howze says she received so many negative comments on Facebook after she endorsed Duggan that she admits those negative comments were the first thing she thought of as the men were breaking into her home.
"Ok, has this escalated to another level? That's what I was thinking about when I was under the bed," she said.
911 was called and neighbors started yelling at the men to get out. "They scared them off." Howze says.
The popular politician then wrote this Facebook post that today is getting a lot of attention:
"DOOR KICKED IN: While everyone on Facebook has been frantic all day Tuesday about my endorsement of Mike Duggan for Mayor, 5 men kicked in my back door while I was home. I was not harmed. The only thing taken was $53 cash that I had on my desk. Do you think this was a coincidence?"
Howze seems to be alluding to that her endorsement of Duggan is somehow tied to her break-in, raising the question herself that the break-in may have been retaliation for her endorsing Duggan.
It's an issue getting a lot of comments on social media today.
Stay tuned to Local 4 News to see the full interview with Howze.