Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., apologized after a video showed her throwing out a pin and a pamphlet memorializing a child killed in the Uvalde mass shooting.
In a video posted on Tuesday to Twitter, Boebert can be seen discarding the sneaker-shaped pin — a reference to the Converse sneakers 10-year-old Maite Rodriguez was wearing when she was fatally shot — as well as the supplementary information about Rodriguez seconds after being handed it by a group of gun-control activists.
Update: We just talked to Lauren Boebert about what the pin represents. She immediately threw away the pin and shook her head “no” when I said we hope you can take action on gun violence prevention. https://t.co/51amIYJiUx pic.twitter.com/Yh4lboUr8t
— sarah fishkind (@sarahefishkind) July 18, 2023
Boebert on Monday apologized in a video published by Patriot Takes for hastily throwing out the items and the "appearance" of "disrespecting a child," justifying her actions by stating that she had been wearing AirPods at the time of the incident. The far-right lawmaker also claimed that the individual who handed her the pin was someone who had approached her "aggressively" in the past.
"I was walking, had AirPods in, tried to tell the man that I was occupied, and he continued, and as he was handing me what turned out to be a memorial pin, I recognized him as a man who came at me very aggressively just a few weeks prior during a press conference," Boebert said. "He was so aggressive that he was apprehended by another member and detained by Capitol Police officers."
She added that she had been "very vocal" about the tragedy, and wanted to "make it very clear that I did not want to receive anything that this man had to give me, nor did I know what he was handing me."
Lauren Boebert apologized for “the appearance” of “disrespecting a child” killed in the Uvalde school shooting after a video of her throwing away her memorial pin went viral.
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) July 24, 2023
Boebert partially blamed throwing the pin away on wearing AirPods and claimed the man was “aggressive.” pic.twitter.com/otyk9XPaxa
However, the person who handed Boebert the pin and pamphlet, a man named Elijah Pelton, told The Independent that Boebert had confused him with an advocate named Jake Burdett, who was physically ousted from a protest by Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., for inquiring about Boebert's divorce.
I am currently being detained by DC Police for asking tough questions to far right extremist Congressmen @RepGosar and @laurenboebert at a press conference. Rep Clay Higgins proceeded to assault/physically remove me from the press conference.For this, the cops detained me,not him pic.twitter.com/iX4yjCGKsZ
— Jake Burdett (@jake_burdett) May 17, 2023
The father of another Uvalde victim posted a heated response to Boebert's tepid apology, blasting it as "bullsh*t."
Brett Cross, the father of Uziyah Garcia, posted his own video response to the Colorado Republican, accusing Boebert of "lying" and underscoring notable physical differences between Pelton and Burdett. Pleton, Cross said, is "a big dude" who "towers over a lot of people." He added that Boebert had willingly taken the items from Pelton, saying, "You grabbed it from him. He's holding it up and you take it from him."
"You looked down at the pamphlet. You looked down at the pin. You knew what it was and you threw it away when you thought nobody was f***ing looking. You got caught and now you're trying to spin a web of lies."
Had to fucking pay for Twitter blue just so I could post me breaking down @laurenboebert ‘s bullshit apology. pic.twitter.com/CfAciK63L0
— Brett Cross (@BCross052422) July 24, 2023
