WASHINGTON (The Hill) — Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), the embattled freshman congressman, claimed he was the target of an assassination attempt, in an interview on a Brazilian podcast in December.

“We have already suffered an attempt on my life, an assassination attempt,” Santos said in Portuguese to the “Radio Novelo Apresenta” podcast, which shared the video with “The Rachel Maddow Show” on MSNBC.

Santos, who was a representative-elect at the time, described the alleged abuse that he and his husband faced in the U.S., seemingly tying it back to the fact that he is a Republican. Santos says they had to have police stand outside their home and explained that their house was attacked after attending a New Year’s Eve party in Florida.

“We go back to our house, it was vandalized because we were at a Republican party,” Santos said.

Santos also claimed that he was the victim of a mugging in New York City in the summer of 2021. He alleged his attacker took his briefcase, shoes and watch during the incident on Fifth Avenue in broad daylight.

“The fear is real. It’s surreal what we live through here,” Santos said.

Santos’ early political career has been marred in controversy since he lied about his past and work history. He has since confirmed some of the embellishments.

A growing chorus of his fellow congressmen have called on the freshman lawmaker to resign, but he has rebuked those calls. He has since been assigned to two committees.

Santos’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.