Louisiana Rep. Clay Higgins (R) was involved in an incident on Wednesday when he physically pushed back an activist during a press conference in front of the Capitol when the man approached to ask Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) questions.
In a video posted online and shared with The Hill, Higgins can be seen grabbing the man’s arms and pushing him back several yards, appearing to almost pick him up.
The man, named Jake Burdett, was at the Capitol on Wednesday with the Maryland Progressive Healthcare Coalition to show support for the reintroduction of the Medicare for All Act alongside Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.).
Kristy Fogle, founder of the Maryland Progressive Healthcare Coalition, told The Hill that her group saw another press conference was being held in front of the Capitol and Burdett said he was interested in asking Boebert a “tough question” when she was at the podium.
Fogle said that, from her perspective, several men who were at the press conference blocked Burdett from approaching. In a video provided to The Hill, Burdett can be heard questioning Rep. Paul Gosar (Ariz.), who was speaking at the podium, on his affiliation with far-right white supremacist Nick Fuentes, as well as political ads that featured Gosar’s family denouncing him.
In the video taken by Burdett, Higgins can be heard telling him, “I’m a congressman, I’ll make you a deal. Listen, let this man talk and then I’ll come talk to you privately.”
“All I’m asking you to do is just peacefully stand by with your camera and I promise you, look at me, I’ll come talk to you straight up and answer all your questions,” Higgins continued.
In a second video, Burdett approaches the press conference as Boebert is at the podium, questioning her about her recently-filed divorce and her restaurant. At this point, several men, including Higgins, begin ushering Burdett away before Burdett walks behind the podium.
After getting close to Boebert, Higgins is heard saying to Burdett, “Nope. You’re out, you’re out,” and begins to push him further and further away from the conference.
“Aren’t you a congressperson touching me?” Burdett asked Higgins, to which Higgins replied, “Yes sir. Yes sir, I am.”
Higgins can then be heard repeatedly saying, “stand by” and “calm down.”
“Rep. Higgins, who I didn’t realize this was him at the time, he grabbed him, pushed him and continued to push him backwards,” said Fogle. “ I honestly didn’t realize that was a representative. I thought that was a bodyguard, the way that he was acting.”
After the incident, U.S. Capitol Police came and interviewed Burdett, according to Fogle, while Higgins returned to the conference.
In a statement to The Hill, U.S. Capitol Police said, “We are aware of this situation, interviewing the people who were involved, and reviewing the available video.”
Higgins’s and Boebert’s offices did not immediately respond when asked for comment by The Hill.
