Who is Lauren Boebert, the Republican congresswoman who was expelled from a theater in Denver

Fallout continues for US Representative for Colorado’s 3rd District Lauren Boebert after she was escorted out of a live performance of the musical ‘Beetlejuice’ in Denver. Other theater-goers at the city-owned Buell Theatre complained of her and her male companion’s behavior during the show. First leading to a warning during the intermission and then ushers asking them to leave five minutes into the second act.

Police were called to the scene when she refused to depart from the lobby according to The Denver Post saying things like “Do you know who I am,” and “I will be contacting the mayor.” In the incident report the two, while not named, were accused of “causing a disturbance” including singing loudly, taking videos and photos as well as vaping. The last of which she was asked by a pregnant woman seated behind her to stop, but Boebert reportedly replied with a curt “no”.

Denver Arts & Venues released security video showing the interactions between Boebert and theater staff as the pair were being escorted out. More footage from inside the theater that night shines light on the disregard the congresswoman had for the other patrons in attendance as well as her date. Besides the before mentioned disturbances, the two were engaging in lewd acts of groping during the family-friendly performance.

Who is Lauren Boebert, the Republican congresswoman who was expelled from a theater in Denver

The Sunday outing at the theater isn’t Boebert’s first time finding herself in trouble. Prior to being elected to Congress for the first time in 2020 she had been arrested and summoned at least four times.

Not even a month into office and she caused a ruckus when she was initially denied entry to House chambers for refusing to hand over her bag after setting off the newly installed metal detectors. A vocal Second Amendment advocate she later said that she was legally permitted to carry her firearm in DC. The metal detectors had been installed after the assault on the US Capitol on January 6 by Trump supporters.

Prior to going to Washington to represent Colorado’s 3rd District, Boebert ran the Shooters Grill in Rifle, Colorado. There she encouraged staff to prominently carry their firearms.

The two-term congresswoman got her start as a legislator after she unexpectedly beat the five-term incumbent Scott Tipton in the Republican primary. She went on to win the vote in the 2020 general election by a wide margin against her Democratic opponent.

In Congress, she is part of the far-right wing of the GOP and is a vocal supporter of Trump. She became the spokesperson for the Freedom Caucus in January 2022.

While she has said she is not a supporter of the Qanon conspiracy theory, she has express support for it and her campaign page on ‘election integrity’ serves up many of the election fraud espoused that have been debunked.

Her antics since she has been in the House of Representatives have taken there toll though. She won re-election by just 546 votes in the 2022 mid-terms. This latest embarrassing episode may take even more of a toll as she faces a GOP primary challenger for her 2024 run to remain in Congress.

Boebert says the past few months have been “a challenging personal time”

She issued an apology for her behavior at the Buell Theatre blaming it on “going through a public and difficult divorce.” She filed for divorce in April and in her words “the past few months has made for a challenging personal time for me and my entire family.”

“I’ve tried to handle it with strength and grace as best I can, but I simply fell short of my values on Sunday. That’s unacceptable and I’m sorry.”