Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, on Thursday called a hearing on the Second Amendment into recess after two protesters interrupted him. He then compared their protest at the Judiciary and Oversight Committees' gun hearing to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Fallon asked Capitol Police to "arrest that woman" after the gun control protesters started to disrupt a meeting about gun control rules in Mexico. The committees were holding a joint hearing called "ATF's Assault of the Second Amendment: When is Enough Enough?" with a focus on the rights of gun owners.
Those inside the hearing room told the Washington Examiner that the woman accused Republicans of taking her son away, and that the man yelled out to the lawmakers, "all of you are full of s***."
The Recount identified the two protesters as Parkland parents Patricia and Manuel Oliver, who lost their son, Joaquin "Guac" Oliver, in a 2018 Florida school shooting.
"Please remove that woman, please," Fallon told the Capitol Police. "You're removed."
As officers escorted the woman out, Fallon told those in attendance that anyone engaging in disorderly conduct can be removed from the proceedings, asking Capitol Police to hold them to the same standard as those arrested during the Jan. 6 insurrection.
"See, this is exactly what we have to avoid, which is some minority of folks trying to silence dissent," he complained. "There's a decorum that should be adhered to."
"Is this an insurrection?" Fallon asked a visibly uncomfortable room of people. "I don't want another Jan. 6, do we?"
A few moments later, Fallon abruptly called a recess in the hearing.
"Does the Capitol Police not do their jobs?" he exclaimed. "What in the hell's going on?"
Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX) on gun reform protests: “Is this an insurrection? Will they be held to the same —”
— The Recount (@therecount) March 23, 2023
Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI): “If they’re trying to overthrow the government, they oughta be held to the same standard, but ... they’re trying to express their frustrations.” pic.twitter.com/SFrMId1fh3
A subsequent clip shows the Capitol Police handcuffing the man on the ground outside of the meeting room.
USCP appears to be arresting a man outside the hearing room pic.twitter.com/K3nMVWsJZT
— Mica Soellner (@MicaSoellnerDC) March 23, 2023
