House Stenographer Opines About Freemasons (Updated) (Video)
Updated Oct. 17, 12:10 p.m. | House passage of a government funding and debt limit deal turned bizarre Wednesday night when a House stenographer went rogue.
The stenographer apparently began shouting about God, the Freemasons and a House divided, just as federal workers’ pay was being restored.
“He will not be mocked. He will not be mocked. Don’t touch me. He will not be mocked. The greatest deception here is this is not ‘one nation under God.’ It never was. Had it been, it would not have been … no … it would not have been,” the stenographer yelled as Capitol Police dragged her from the House floor.
“The Constitution would not have been written by free masons. They go against God,” she said. “You cannot serve two masters. You cannot serve two masters. Praise be to God. Lord Jesus Christ.”
Lawmakers watched the scene in a mix of bewilderment and shock. Members stood on the floor watching the scene unfold, and after the floor staffer was removed from the chamber, lawmakers turned to each other to try figure out what that was all about.
Update Oct. 17, 12:10 p.m.
U.S. Capitol Police confirmed that after they interviewed the woman — identified by various news outlets as Dianne Reidy — she was transported to a local hospital for a mental-health evaluation. She was not arrested or charged. The Capitol Police said it did not know if she returned to work Thursday.
Reidy and her husband, Dan, also provided a statement to Fox News reporter Chad Pergram on Thursday.
In the statement — which Pergram tweeted — Reidy said the “Holy Spirit has been waking me up in the middle of the night … to deliver a message to the House Chamber.”
Reidy added that she decided to take the dais on Wednesday night despite her “reluctance and doubt.”
Her husband added that his wife is a “level-headed, wonderful woman of God. I am so proud of her.”