Colorado Republican Representative Lauren Boebert was given a brutal reminder by Denver Mayor Mike Johnston after she ranted about the city's Newcomer's Playbook, which contains best practices and procedures for cities to emulate Denver's welcoming policy toward migrants.
The 24-page document, released by Johnston's administration in April, serves as a "guide" for other cities to follow. It is divided into two sections, offering recommendations and strategies for successfully integrating newcomers into urban communities.
The introduction explains that "newcomers" is the term used by the City of Denver to describe migrants, reflecting a commitment to more inclusive language.
This clearly angered Boebert, who issued the following statement on X, formerly Twitter:
"Denver officials have just released a 22-page 'Newcomers Playbook: A Guide to Welcoming Newcomers into Your City.' This is a guide that tells other cities how to follow the Denver model of bringing illegals into a city."
"I wish I was joking, but this is reality. We need to vote out everyone in government who refers to illegal alien criminal invaders as 'newcomers' and do so quickly. Our nation is being stolen from us and they’re complicit."
You can see her post below.
Johnston later responded to Boebert's post by reminding her of the time she and her date were ejected from a performance of Beetlejuice due to disruptive behavior at a Denver theater.
Boebert has continued to weather criticism about her "outrageous behavior" during a touring production of Beetlejuice and those who attended the performance confirmed she was vaping and taking photos during the show.
Additionally, Boebert is facing accusations that she was getting rather hot and heavy with her date, bar owner Quinn Gallagher, that night—and surveillance footage suggests she was fondling Gallagher in the middle of a performance where children were present.
With this in mind, Johnston wrote:
"Did I forget a section in the playbook about not vaping and getting handsy at Beetlejuice? We haven’t had that issue with any of our newcomers, but now that we know you're paying attention, we'll add it."
You can see his post below.
Many appreciated Johnston's response—and joined him in ripping Boebert.
Others criticized Boebert directly.
Boebert's camp initially acknowledged that she was taking photos during the performance but disputed reports that she was vaping; a campaign statement did not address her groping behavior.
Theater officials confirmed that two patrons, including Boebert, were escorted out of the show after talking loudly, vaping, and using cameras during the performance. They had been warned about their behavior during intermission when a pregnant audience member who was sitting behind them complained, but continued to disrupt the show in the second act, leading to their removal.
Boebert initially attributed the incident to her "overtly animated personality" and later admitted to vaping during the show. However, she claimed she "genuinely did not recall" doing so.
A local Denver news anchor, Kyle Clark, called Boebert out live on air for her behavior and then lying about it afterward.
@GavinNewsom/X
