Who is Lauren Boebert and Why is she Allowed to Carry a Gun at the Capital?
by Kara Machowki
Lauren Boebert. A name that has popped up numerous times within the last week and a half. That’s mostly due to the fact that she’s only held her seat as the U.S. Republican Representative for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional district for 11 days. Florida born, Democrat turned Republican in 2007, is known for her extreme conservative views, follower of QAnon, along with her gun rights activism. She is also known for a few infamous externalities, such as being married to Jayson Boebert, a known sexual offender. Jayson Boebert was arrested in 2004, a year prior to marrying Lauren, for exposing himself to a teenage girl and group of adults in a bowling alley and shortly afterward he was arrested for domestic violence.
On the very date that Boebert was sworn into office she released a self made promotion video of her loading and strapping her Glock to the side of her leg. As she marches through the streets of Washington D.C., which is a concealed weapons district; meaning that she can carry her gun as long as it is legal, registered, she has a registered gun license and it is not visible. However, to carry a gun as a civilian (registered or not) is prohibited on the grounds of the State Capital. A person must be a member of the legal forces and have authority to carry a weapon on the grounds and inside of the chambers. In Boebert’s gun rights promo, she specifically states why she will be bringing her gun inside the capital chambers. This video was shared on January 3rd, 2021 on her Twitter account, just three days before the planned coup on the Capital, unleashed by President Trump. So why is Lauren Boebert still allowed on the capital floors?
Boebert is known to have followed in the footsteps of the President during her campaign. Even though she was not able to raise as much campaign money as Rep. Tipton, the incumbent Republican adversary, but she mainly campaigned on social media. Boebert became well known in Rifle, Colorado for allowing her employees to carry a firearm post an alleged incident at her Shooters.
After the attack on the Capital, lawmakers decided to place metal detecters and implement bag searches at the entrances to ensure the protection of all members of Congress. Boebert refused the search of her purse, as she most likely had a concealed weapon inside of it. She ended up being allowed to enter post a standoff with security, without having her bag searched. In her gun-rights promo video, Boebert explains that educated members of society who are armed, are the safest to be around. However, isn’t it up to our discretion, or Congress’ while on the floor of the House, to decide if that person is sane and safe to be around rather than being told that “they’ll be fine”? The reason this question should be raised is that Boebert has a speckled history of problems with authority and an arrest record as well as being a high school drop out. Boebert did obtain a GED after working management for McDonald's and later moved to Colorado and became an owner of a Shooters, which she refused to close during the pandemic.
Boebert’s first recorded run in with the law happened in 2010 in Colorado when neighbors, the Soets, phoned police to inform them that Boebert has been harassing them. The report states that Boebert also released her pit bulls in intent to harm the dogs of the Soets and was issued a citation for her dogs. Boebert claimed through a text message to the Soets that “they had taken food out of her children’s mouths”. It is unclear as to if Boebert in fact did not feed her children over the cost of the citation.
Boebert was arrested two times in Mesa county, Colorado reportedly in 2015. Even though during her campaign she sent the message of “backing the blue”, she was detained post a verbal altercation with the police at Country Jam Music Festival. She reportedly was arrested for urging underage drinkers to flee from the police after being detained, which resulted in the individuals becoming rowdy. Boebert herself then tried to flee police as she was being arrested and tried to assuage them to let her go by boasting that she “had friends at Fox News” and the arrest would become national news, which it did not. When time came to show up to court, she actually missed the day, telling the judge that she forgot what day of the week it was at the time, stating that she “now knows it is Friday”. When the arraignment was rescheduled for the next month, she again did not show, but sent a letter in her place that read;
“I apologize for irresponsibly wasting the courts time with this matter. I want nothing more than to be finished with this case, as it is something I keep on the forefront of my thinking.”
The court was less lenient at the time and decided to issue a warrant for her arrest. She was again arrested, but the case was dropped as it was felt that if the case made it to court there wouldn’t be enough evidence to convict the 5 ft, 100lb Caucasian woman.
She was again arrested and booked to Garfield County Jail on February 13th for failure to appear in court after she was charged with careless driving and operating an unsafe vehicle, having rolled her truck into a ditch. After failure to appear in court, being arrested, she then plead guilty, and again the case was dropped. The now Garfield County sheriff was in charge of the jail at the time, and interestingly enough, endorsed her campaign to run for Congress.
Lauren Boebert recieved calls for resignation after she posted three tweets one prior and two during the January 6th raid on the Capital that may land her in court for the umpteenth time, however this time may be federal court. Boebert tweeted on the morning of Januray 6th, four seemingly innocent numbers, except when they are stacked together and spoken by a well known White Supremacist, "1776", the year that America became known as an independent nation from England. While insurrectionists who stormed the capital were chanting to hang VP Mike Pence and Nanci Pelosi, Boebert tweeted at 12:17pm EST, the exact location of her and fellow Congress members and then at 12:18pm she tweeted that Nancy Pelosi, the House Speaker, had been removed from the chambers that Boebert was in.
There are reports that Boebert allegedly gave a reconnaissance tour to Capital Terrorists the day before the January 6th raid.
The trouble with Boebert, is that she shows complete lack of responsibility and zero respect for laws that she feels do not apply to her. This is the exact kind of irrational thinking that encourages individuals who look up to, and support her, to fall into line with her actions. The fact that she represents Congress, a group of individuals who set the law of the country, but does not follow the law, gives example as to how if she is not held accountable for her actions then no Congress member can be held responsible for breaking the law. It begs the question as to if other members of Congress may be breaking the law at the Capital, and what might they be?
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