U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert was asked to leave a Denver theater on Sunday night after a number of audience members close to her voiced their concerns that she was causing a disruption.
Two spectators were kicked out of a Beetlejuice musical performance for disobeying viewing guidelines according to a Denver Center for the Performing Arts incident record given to NPR.
The theater didn’t name Boebert specifically, but the Colorado Republican identified herself by tweeting, “It’s true, I did thoroughly enjoy the AMAZING Beetlejuice at the Buell Theatre and I plead guilty to laughing and singing too loud!”
“Everyone should go see it if you get the chance this week,” she added. “Please let me know how it ends.”
According to the report, the individuals expelled were observed vaping and violating theater policies by recording the show on a cell phone.
Three complaints about the behavior were made to the theater staff, which led security to caution the two customers during intermission. However, the staff was summoned to remove the two customers after receiving a fourth complaint five minutes into the second act.
The guests reportedly refused to leave, according to one of the ushers.
“They told me they would not leave. I told them that they need to leave the theater and if they do not, they will be trespassing. The patrons said they would not leave. I told them I would (be) going to get Denver Police. They said go get them,” the usher in the report.
According to surveillance footage provided to regional news organizations, Boebert is visible sitting in row E, toward the front of the 2,800-person theater, next to a man wearing a suit jacket.
The two are confronted by two security guards as the audience cheers the conclusion of a scene and other audience members look on. They talk for a minute before getting up to leave.
Boebert is led through the theater’s lobby while making multiple turns back to talk to security personnel. The two were heard stating things like “Do you know who I am?,” “I am on the board,” and “I will be contacting the mayor,” per the incident report.
Surveillance video shows that at one point Boebert stops to take a selfie. She walks hand in hand with the man outside the theater and spins around like she’s dancing.
Boebert’s campaign manager brushed off the claim as being exaggerated in a response to NPR.
She wasn’t vaping, he continued, but he did point out that the show uses “heavy fog machines and electronic cigarettes.”
Boebert, who is seeking reelection for a third time to the third congressional district in Colorado, is no stranger to altercations with law enforcement and security personnel.
According to The Denver Post, she was arrested and summoned at least four times before beginning her career in politics, each time for relatively minor offenses.
She was denied access to the House floor during her first days in the U.S. Capitol because she refused to allow Capitol Police to inspect her purse after she tripped metal detectors at the House floor doors as part of a new security measure that will be in effect starting on January 6, 2021.
