Last year, Representative Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) was kicked out of a Denver Beetlejuice The Musical performance for vaping and disrupting the performance. At an appearance at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. yesterday, Boebert was mocked by protestors who chanted “Beetlejuice” and held signs with the musical’s name on them.
House Republicans, including Boebert and Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.), toured the pro-Palestine protest encampment yesterday at George Washington University. The encampment is run by students from GW and other D.C. area colleges and universities and was assembled last week.
Upon Boebert’s arrival, the GW Hatchet, the University’s student newspaper, reported students began yelling “Beetlejuice” at her and sang “The Imperial March,” or Star Wars‘ Darth Vader theme.
Videos of the interaction were posted on X.
“Boo!” protestors yelled at Boebert. “Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice!”
The Hatchet also photographed a protestor behind Boebert holding a “Beetlejuice” sign while she was speaking at a press conference on campus.
While visiting the encampment, Boebert attempted to pull down a Palestinian flag hung on a statue on the University campus.
“It is private property, and this is America,” Boebert told protestors, reported the Hatchet. “This should come down.”
She also said that the National Guard should be called in to break up the encampment.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s has taken a more “hands-off approach” to protestors. As reported by CNN, the GW pro-Palestine protest and pro-Israel counterprotests have remained peaceful and are being closely watched by D.C. Metro Police. None of the protestors at GW have been arrested.
However, Boebert threatened consequences to the University if protests weren’t broken up.
“If they don’t want to do something to address this? Well, then kiss your federal funding goodbye,” Business Insider reported Boebert said.
Like other colleges and universities, GW has called called in law enforcement to crack down on encampments—but last week, D.C. police refused to do so.
The Washington Post reported that police authorities were worried about the optics of police breaking up peaceful protest and wanted to “avoid images of violent altercations between police and protesters,” similar to those that came out of Columbia University and New York’s City College.
On Tuesday night, New York police officers used force to arrest protestors at both schools and break into a building students and protestors had barricaded at Columbia. Almost 300 protestors, including students, were arrested.
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