RAYMONDVILLE, Texas — A former candidate for the Texas state Senate says that on Christmas Eve, she was lured to a Texas hotel, bound, gagged, and tortured.

Since then, according to a report from Newsweek, three people have been charged with the attack on Vannesa Tijerina, who ran for a Texas Senate seat in November and previously ran for Congress.

According to reports, Tijerina said she was lured to a hotel in Raymondville by someone who called her claiming she wanted to speak to her about her personal safety.

When Tijerina arrived, she said, she was met by a woman in a “black bra” and then attacked by three people. She sustained swollen eyes, damaged teeth, boot marks on her face, and bruising.

Police have arrested three people – identified as Amanda Salinas, Ariel Vera and Raymond Santana – in connection with the attack, though Tijerina maintains there was a fourth person involved.

A motive for the attack has not been announced.

Tijerina in November lost her bid to represent District 27 to Democrat Eddie Lucio. The defeat came in the wake of the Texas Republican Party announcing it would no longer support Tijerina’s campaign, citing “multiple arrests and shocking evidence of driving under the influence."

Reports indicate police in June found “crack pipes” in her vehicle when she was pulled over for suspicion of driving while intoxicated. She was charged with DWI with child passengers.

In 2016, when Tijerina ran as a Green Party candidate for the Texas House of Representatives, she was accused of conducting a food stamp scam. Tijerina claimed the accusation was politically motivated.