Newly released security video shows what led to Colorado Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert being escorted out of a Denver theater Sunday night, and it contradicts her side of the story.
The theater had said that Boebert and her partner were removed after several attendees complained about them vaping, singing, using their phones and causing a disturbance. But earlier this week, Boebert’s campaign manager Drew Sexton confirmed the rest of the story while denying that vaping had anything to do with her ouster.
But additional footage obtained by Scripps News shows Boebert and a castmate sitting in their audience seats before the musical “Beetlejuice” began. After this, she was caught on camera blowing smoke in the air several times using a vape pen.
She was also captured on video taking pictures with the flash on her cell phone after the lights in the house were switched off.
Initially released footage of the incident showed the usher approaching Boebert and her guest mid-performance, leading to a conversation with theater staff before both were escorted out.
“They told me they would not leave. I told them they needed to leave the theater and if they did not do so, they would trespass,” one usher wrote in an incident report shared with Scripps News. “The patrons said they wouldn’t go. I told them I would go [be] Going to get the Denver police. He said go and get them.”
The usher also said that while they were in the vestibule he again asked the couple to leave the property, and he said things like “Do you know who I am’ ‘I’m on the board’ ‘I’ll contact the mayor’ Responded with.”
On Tuesday, Boebert tweeted about the incident, saying she was “guilty of laughing and singing too loud.”
It’s true, I thoroughly enjoyed the wonderful Beetlejuice at the Buell Theater and I’m guilty of laughing and singing along a lot!
Everyone should go see it if you get a chance this week and please let me know how it ends!https://t.co/8JHypcCKsP
– Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) 12 September 2023
Since the new video shows Boebert vaping while the house lights were on, it’s possible she could claim she was not vaping during the actual performance.
Scripps News has contacted his representatives for further comment.
Now in her second term in Congress, Boebert has gained notoriety for being extreme right-wing and spreading lies about the 2020 presidential election. She is running for re-election in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, which largely covers the western half of the state.