Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) packed her own bullhorn for a Wednesday trip to George Washington University, where protesters continue to occupy a “liberation camp” they erected in support of Gazans nearly a week ago.
But she didn’t pack her running shoes—otherwise she might have been able to get away from the heckling students repeatedly shouting “Beetlejuice” at her.
The jeers, of course, were in reference to the time that Boebert got kicked out of a September performance of the musical Beetlejuice in Denver for vaping, singing along, and feeling up her date. (The budding relationship did not survive the gleeful public shaming that followed.)
Boebert was filmed being led through the D.C. campus by her security team as members of the crowd sang Darth Vader’s theme from Star Wars and chanted “Beetlejuice.”
As she traversed the encampment, the Colorado congresswoman came upon a statue of George Washington draped in a Palestinian flag. She grasped for the largest one, trying to rip it down. “This is America, and that shit needs to come down,” she can be heard saying in a video taken by a witness.
Eventually, Boebert let go and threw a hand up, unable to pull the flag off the statue.
The Republican, who was visiting with fellow Reps. Byron Donalds (R-FL), Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), and James Comer (R-KY), later addressed the campus community. Someone in the crowd standing behind her as she spoke held up a cardboard sign reading “Beetlejuice.”
Railing against the protesters and their “2024 ‘Summer of Love,’” Boebert called them “very disrespectful” for disrupting other students’ learning.
“It’s time that Mayor [Muriel] Bowser gets aggressive in keeping safety here on this campus and the surrounding perimeter,” she said.
When protesters broke out in cries of “Free, free Palestine” moments later, Boebert countered with: “We bless Israel! Those who bless Israel shall be blessed!”
Boebert then began reading out slogans on signs she’d seen in the encampment, including “Queer and trans folks for a liberated Palestine,” “Gays for Gaza,” and “Chinese for Palestine.”
“This not only disgusts me”—Boebert then turned and grabbed her bullhorn as the students’ chants grew louder—“Not only is this disgusting but let me be clear: Almost every single person in this so-called ‘liberated zone’ would be eviscerated by the very terrorists you are standing here supporting.”
The lawmaker’s speech then took a turn as she abruptly threatened that Congress could cut the school’s funding should the protests continue to go unchecked.
“If the faculty here, who, many are involved in this right now—I had people proudly saying that they are faculty—and not wanting to remove a Palestinian sign from the George Washington statue,” Boebert fumed. “If they don’t want to do something to address this? Well, then kiss your federal funding goodbye.”
Her visit was presaged by Comer’s announcement that a House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing next week would focus on the protests at George Washington University.
Several students at the school were suspended last Friday after defying an order to clear the encampment, according to The Washington Post. No arrests had been made or expulsions handed down as of Wednesday night.
