Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert was forced to apologize on Saturday after a video showing her tossing away a pin honoring one of the victims of the Uvalde shooting went viral on social media, The Hill reported.
In the video, Boebert is seen walking through the hall when an activist approaches her and hands her a pamphlet and the pin while a second activist is heard asking Boebert if she would “take action on gun violence prevention.”
According to the gun control activist who posted the viral video, Boebert shook her head and said, “No,” in response.
Boebert is then seen walking away and tossing the pamphlet and pin into the trash.
The Colorado Republican immediately came under harsh criticism, with local Texas outlets reporting on the backlash from the families of those killed.
In a video of her own, Boebert apologized to those who thought she was “disrespecting” one of the children who was killed in Uvalde by “an evil, evil person.”
However, Boebert insisted that this was “not at all what it was.”
She claimed that she recognized the gun control activist who handed her the items as someone who had previously been aggressive with her and said she didn’t want to receive anything from someone “who has been harassing me and my office.”
Boebert said that she had been wearing AirPods at the time and told the activist that she was “occupied.”
She insisted that she has been “very vocal” about the tragic shooting in Uvalde and said she wanted to “make it clear” that she didn’t want to “receive anything that this man had to give me.” She added that she did not know what the items were when he handed them to her.
According to the congresswoman, her pastor inspired her to make her video response.
