A super PAC supporting independent Senate candidate Dan Osborn is airing a graphic 60-second ad attacking Republican incumbent Pete Ricketts for pardoning a man convicted of sexual assault nearly three decades ago. The ad opens with a content warning and features a narrator identifying herself as Jody S., who describes being violently assaulted by John Arias in her home on April 30, 1993. Arias pleaded guilty to first-degree sexual assault and was sentenced to 15 to 30 years in prison, released in April 2008 after serving nearly 14 years.

The ad shows newspaper headlines from the 1990s, a black-and-white image of Ricketts, and a mug shot of Arias from Nebraska’s sex offender registry. The narrator states that Ricketts, then governor and a member of the pardon board, cast the deciding vote to pardon Arias in September 2022, which removed his name from the registry and allowed him to own a gun. Audio from the pardon hearing includes Ricketts saying, “Yes.

But with that, you’ve got your pardon.” Ricketts and then-Attorney General Doug Peterson voted for the pardon; Secretary of State Bob Evnen opposed it. Ricketts later defended the decision, citing Arias’s remorse, military service, and volunteer work. The victim said she was not notified of the pardon or invited to the hearing.