Shouting broke out on the House floor after Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) held a moment of prayer for conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot on Wednesday afternoon.
After the moment of silence, Johnson recognized Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.).
“I believe that silent prayers get silent results,” Boebert said. “Is there someone who could lead us in a moment of prayer out loud for Charlie and his family —”
Groans and a shout of “no” broke out as Boebert continued, “and the victims in Colorado,” in an apparent reference to a Wednesday shooting at a high school in Colorado.
A lawmaker who appeared to be protesting Boebert’s request shouted something about children.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), who earlier in the day said she was “done with the rhetoric this rotten House and corrupt media has caused,” yelled back.
“Wait a minute. Wait a minute,” Johnson said. “The House will be in order.”
Shouting back and forth ensued for several seconds, as someone yelled: “A school shooting in Colorado.”
The normally calm Johnson shouted and banged his gavel: “The House will be in order.”
Before going to the House floor, Johnson decried political violence.
“This is detestable what’s happened. Political violence has become all too common in American society, and this is not who we are. It violates core principles of our country, our Judeo-Christian heritage, our civil society, our American way of life, and it must stop,” Johnson told reporters.
“We need every political figure, we need everyone who has a platform to say this loudly and clearly. We can settle disagreements and disputes in a civil manner, and political violence must be called out and has to stop.”
