A Democratic congresswoman seemed to deride a city’s police department in texts to its mayor after her roommate was arrested for allegedly throwing punches at her town hall meeting last year, according to Fox News.
Authorities said “punches were thrown” at California Rep. Katie Porter’s July 11, 2021, district town hall meeting in Irvine marked by “opposing opinions,” and 51-year-old Julian Willis was arrested and cited, according to NBC 7 San Diego. Property records indicate Willis lives with Porter, Fox News reported.
Porter told Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan the day after the incident she was meeting with the police chief and did not expect the mayor to attend, in texts the outlet shared. She deemed the police department “a disgrace,” declaring, “I will never trust them again.” (RELATED: Police Release Video Of Their Car Being Hit By Train With Suspect Inside)
Protesters chanting “Carpetbagger Katie!” and “Corrupt Katie Porter!” interrupted as she spoke at the town hall, and supporters replied with chants of “Katie! Katie! Katie!” or yelled “Shut up!” according to the Los Angeles Times. The two sides subsequently came to mutual blows, with Porter entering the maw and wrapping her arms around an elderly woman.
“She was disappointed that despite our staff alerting police days before the event that the extremists were openly advertising their intention to disrupt the town hall, officers on the day of the incident were hundreds of feet away and did not intervene immediately when fighting broke out,” Porter spokesperson Jordan Wong told Fox News. “Since then, Rep. Porter and our office have worked productively with the Irvine Police Department, including the Congresswoman hosting the new police chief in her office for a constructive and cooperative meeting.”
Porter is set to face Republican Scott Baugh in her district’s November House general election, according to Ballotpedia. Baugh tweeted about Fox News’ report, saying, “It is a disgrace to disrespect the officers who work tirelessly to keep the citizens of #Irvine safe.”
Irvine has won “Safest City In America” for 15 consecutive years. It is a disgrace to disrespect the officers who work tirelessly to keep the citizens of #Irvine safe. https://t.co/9Gmse08q1f
— Scott Baugh (@ScottBaughCA47) September 26, 2022
“This is her true colors coming through and they’re certainly not blue,” Baugh told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “That was an unvarnished moment of who Katie Porter is. She has rules for me but not for thee.”
“I’d like to know why her boyfriend was never prosecuted,” he said. “I mean if he was arrested and cited for a misdemeanor assault, why was there no prosecution?”
Porter’s representatives and Khan did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
This story has been updated with comment from Scott Baugh.
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