Staffers of Sen. Scott Brown’s reelection campaign were captured on video making “Indian war whoop” cries and doing “tomahawk chops,” presumably in reference to the controversy surrounding Democrat Elizabeth Warren’s self-proclaimed Native American heritage.
The video, first reported by Boston’s WCVB NewsCenter 5, was posted on YouTube by BlueMassGroup2012, which appears to be a Democratic group.
NewsCenter 5 confirmed that the people in the video were indeed Brown staffers, identified as deputy Chief of Staff Greg Casey, Constituent Service Counsel Jack Richard, and GOP operative Brad Garrett.
The video was taken at a rally for Brown outside of Eire Pub in Boston. Brown supporters are seen holding signs, and the chanting appears to be directed at Warren supporters holding signs right across from them.
The video comes on the heels of the Brown campaign releasing an ad that attacks Warren for the questions surrounding her questionable Cherokee heritage. Warren listed herself as Native American in a law school directory, but reporters were unable to find any genealogical evidence that this was the case.
Brown addressed the issue at a media availability at South Station Tuesday morning, according to audio provided by the campaign.*
“I haven’t seen it, this is the first I’m hearing of it. But I know we had a lot of rallies, so I don’t know what you’re specifically referring to, but if you’re saying that, certainly that’s not something I condone, it’s certainly something that if I am aware of it, I’ll tell that member to never do it again,” he said.
“But the real issue here is, and the real offense is the fact that Professor Warren checked the box,” he added. “She said that she was white, and then she checked the box saying she was Native American and then she changed her profile in the law directory once she attained her tenure. That’s quite offensive to Native Americans and something that she should release her records, as I released my 32 years of military records.”
The Warren campaign responded immediately to request for comment.
*This post has been updated with Brown’s response.
