Trump supporters confront and scream at Sen. Lindsey Graham
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a close ally of President Donald Trump who was critical of the President this week, was confronted and screamed at by Trump supporters at Reagan National Airport, according to videos posted on social media Friday.
“You traitor,” a woman screams at the senator in one video, as he walks through one of the terminals at the Washington, DC, area airport. “Lindsey Graham,​ you are a traitor to the country.”
In the video, the senator at one point appeared to ​respond to someone ​in the crowd but it’s unclear what he said.
A second video posted on YouTube showed that security eventually escorted him to a stairwell.
“You saw how we surrounded him,” one man says in that video after the confrontation ended. “If we were really violent people, we could have ended him right there and then. But we didn’t, we just asked him questions.”
In another video, obtained by a Politico reporter, a woman dressed in a QAnon shirt is heard saying, “One day they will not be able to walk down the street; it is today.”
Asked for comment on the video, Kevin Bishop, the senator’s communications director told CNN, “We don’t discuss security issues involving Senator Graham.”
A Reagan National Airport spokesperson told CNN there were no charges related to the incident.
The backlash directed at Graham was sparked after the Republican senator’s criticism of Trump after a violent pro-Trump mob attacked the Capitol on Wednesday. The riot came as a joint session of Congress had convened to count Electoral College votes and affirm President-elect Joe Biden’s victory — which Trump has protested by repeatedly making false claims that the election was stolen from him.
Graham said at a news conference the next day that the President’s accomplishments have been “tarnished by yesterday” and the attack “will be a major part of his presidency.”
“When it comes to accountability, the President needs to understand that his actions were the problem, not the solution,” he added.
He also called on Trump to “accept he fell short” in the election “and a new president will be coming,” asking him to “turn down the rhetoric and allow us as a nation to heal and move forward.”
Graham did not support objections raised against Arizona’s and Pennsylvania’s electoral votes. Both objections failed in the Senate and Congress ultimately finished its vote count to affirm Biden’s White House win.
“You garbage human being,” a woman is heard yelling in the video. “It’s going to be like this forever wherever you go for the rest of your life.”
Graham won a fourth term in November, defeating a well-funded Democratic challenger in a competitive reelection that earned national attention.
People in the video can also be heard screaming at Graham, saying that he was “part of the Chinese Communist party,” an apparent allusion to baseless QAnon conspiracy theories.
“You don’t represent us anymore,” a person is heard yelling.
Another yelled, “You better enjoy Gitmo.”
