Florida Representative Matt Gaetz has been lambasted on the internet after claiming a protestor blowing a whistle--an actual one, that is, not a figurative one--amounts to assault.
The incident happened during a disastrous joint press conference Gaetz held with other far-right lawmakers who are insisting that Congress's attempts to hold people accountable for participating in the Capitol riots in January is "persecution."
The lawmakers ending up fleeing the scene because non-violent protestors--armed with nothing but whistles--showed up, which Gaetz characterized as "assault." But liberals are the "snowflakes," right?
'Snowflake' Matt Gaetz gets buried in mockery for accusing man of assault for blowing a whistlehttps://www.rawstory.com/matt-gaetz-2654176859/\u00a0\u2026— Raw Story (@Raw Story) 1627494145
Gaetz was joined by fellow far-right crackpots Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Representative Louie Gohmert of Texas, and Representative Paul Gosar of Arizona. The lawmakers were gathered to pressure the Department of Justice to issue status updates on people who have been detained for participating in the U.S. Capitol on January 6, calling them "political prisoners."
That is, of course, a very interesting way of describing people who joined a mob that erected a gallows in front of the Capitol and openly stated they intended to murder former Republican Vice President Mike Pence and Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
So, unsurprisingly, the event drew protestors, and chaos quickly ensued when one of them blew a whistle to drown out the Representatives' rhetoric.
In a tweet seen below, Gaetz posted a video of an altercation between the whistle-blowing protestor and a reporter from a far-right news outlet Right Side Broadcasting Network.
BREAKING: Masked whistle man assaults \u2066@RSBNetwork\u2069 reporter.\n\nBehold the tolerant, pro-speech Left pic.twitter.com/yAGZbuQL5q— Matt Gaetz (@Matt Gaetz) 1627483895
In the video, the reporter claimed the protestor was "physically harming" her by blowing his whistle and commanded him several times to back up. The protestor replied by telling her to get away from him, and continued blowing his whistle.
The video has all the drama and intrigue of two children sniping at each other on a playground, but Gaetz had a different take. In his tweet, Gaetz wrote:
"BREAKING: Masked whistle man assaults @RSBNetwork eporter. Behold the tolerant, pro-speech Left"
Gaetz's flare for the cry-baby melodramatic did not sit well with most people on the internet. On Twitter, people raked Gaetz over the coals for his overwrought portrayal of the incident.
Assault? I didn\u2019t see either of them touch each other and she was purposefully getting in his face.pic.twitter.com/JqeXntPGPY— LookAtThis (@LookAtThis) 1627484109
The guy might have been rude, but that was not an assault.— David Weissman (@David Weissman) 1627494103
GAETZ : Blowing a whistle?... assault. \n\nAlso Gaetz: insurrection?...tourism \nviolence on Jan 6?.....tourism. \nPeople killed?... tourism\nCapital cops bashed?... tourism\nAttempt to overthrow democracy?.... tourism— Cindy Shakeshaft \u270a\ud83c\udf40 (@Cindy Shakeshaft \u270a\ud83c\udf40) 1627484795
Assault? . The whistle blower looks like a routine tourist to me. This is an assault:pic.twitter.com/8ozMUd3ZMz— KathleenFrances \ud83c\udf40\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@KathleenFrances \ud83c\udf40\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1627493642
I don\u2019t think you know what the meaning of the word \u201cassault\u201d is Mattie.— Laura Kerr (@Laura Kerr) 1627485829
"Unmasked reporter assaulted masked protester"\nFixed it for you— Tish Bryce (@Tish Bryce) 1627484150
Thank you for presenting this evidence of this woman laying her hands on this poor man. He was just exercising his freedom of speech. She was free to move away at any point.— Kaj-Erik Eriksen\u00ae\ufe0f (@Kaj-Erik Eriksen\u00ae\ufe0f) 1627484921
Where's the assault, Matt?pic.twitter.com/HS05PcBJS5— CHIDI\u00ae\ufe0f (@CHIDI\u00ae\ufe0f) 1627484132
Assault is defined as a physical attack. So, that certainly didn't happen. But hey, you're not known for your honesty.— say my name (@say my name) 1627487836
Gaetz is presently under federal investigation for trafficking underage girls for sex, which he was questioned about repeatedly at today's presser, causing him to run away.
An award for @lawindsor for asking Gaetz if he\u2019s a pedophile to his face both loudly and clearly. pic.twitter.com/TepHNN51M0— Ricky Davila (@Ricky Davila) 1627418729
Poor, triggered little snowflake...
@demetrialllucas/Instagram
@primospeedwell01/Instagram
@michaelabentley_fitness/Instagram
@sunnyanderson/Instagram
@egyptsherrod/Instagram
@arlenelitton/Instagram
@absolutelygorgeous100/Instagram
Kerry Dolan/Forbes