Rep. Tim Burchett and a protester got into a physical altercation Thursday outside of the Longworth House Office Building that ended with the Tennessee Republican forcefully shoving the man.
The scrap took place shortly after the final House votes of the week. The protester accosted Burchett about his stance regarding the Israel-Hamas war and then bumped the lawmaker, Burchett’s office said, prompting him to respond with the shove.
Capitol Police officers questioned the protester after the incident. The department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Everyone has a right to their opinion, and they can say all of the filthy stuff they want. But they don’t have the right to bump the Congressman,” Will Garrett, a spokesperson for Burchett, said in a statement.
Burchett said afterward the man “had bad breath.”
A frequent thorn in the side of House GOP leaders, Burchett had a prior confrontation with Kevin McCarthy, the former speaker, not long after he voted to depose McCarthy from his role.
Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.
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