Democratic Congresswoman Compared to Jussie Smollet for Her Tale of Racist Incident in Capitol
California Rep. Barbara Lee appeared on CNN Thursday evening and, in a discussion on the topic of racism and Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, told what she called a “little story” to illustrate the importance of understanding “personal racisim.”
“I was walking from the House building on Capitol Hill to the Capitol and a man, a white guy, stopped me and told me I could not get into the members’ elevator,” she said. “And, you know, we have pins, and I was going to vote. And he blocked me from getting into the elevator and told me that I was not a member of Congress and it was for members only.
“I said, ‘Sir, I’m a member of Congress and I showed him my pin, and he said, ‘Whose pin did you steal?'”
“Now this is an example of what personal racism is,” she claimed, “and how people of color have to deal with this each and every day.”
At no point in the video did Lee explain why she thought the man who stopped her did so out of racism, rather than simply because he failed to recognize her as House member.
Rep. Barbara Lee: “I was walking to the Capitol and a man stopped me, a white guy, and told me I could not get into the members’ elevator…He told me it was for members only. I said, ‘Sir, I’m a member of Congress’ and showed him my pin. And he said, ‘Whose pin did you steal?'” pic.twitter.com/RGhOpfTMjM
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) January 19, 2024
The video hadn’t been posted to X for very long before people started comparing Lee’s story to that told by actor Jussie Smollett, who in 2019 filed a complaint with police in Chicago, claiming that he’d by assaulted by two men who used racial and homophobic slurs.
Perhaps most famously, Smollett claimed that the men yelled, “This is MAGA country!” — perhaps the first and last time heavily Democratic Chicago has ever been so described.
The two men who “attacked” him were later identified as brothers whom Smollett had paid to stage the event.
Smollett was later found guilty on five of six counts regarding filing false police reports related to the staged assault.
Lee did not provide any evidence that the man she says harassed her was motivated by race, and in fact provided no evidence that the event had even occurred, resulting in a number of other X users scoffing at her account and demanding proof.
There are security cameras at every elevator. Show us proof.
— Sarcasm for a cause = Virtue. Eleutheromaniac. (@pallee12) January 19, 2024
Then he said “THIS IS MAGA COUNTRY!”
— Matthew Marsden (@matthewdmarsden) January 19, 2024
Did that guy yell “This is MAGA country!” before running off?
— The Right King Todd (@RightKingTodd) January 19, 2024
I think Barbara Lee out – smolletted Jussie Smollett.
— Ernestine Hemingway (@CarolynDCro) January 19, 2024
Sounds Very Smollett like especially from Lee who like others have made a career of race baiting. https://t.co/xdJfWQKqPC
— Boating In FL (@KevieShea) January 19, 2024
It was not known whether Lee had filed any sort of complaint with Capitol Police or sought in any way to identify the man she said harassed her.
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