Steve Knight Lashes Out at Conservative Activists
Updated 7 p.m. | Freshman lawmaker Steve Knight got so fed up over the weekend with the anti-immigration protesters who have been hounding him for months that he finally snapped.
“If you touch me again, I’ll drop your ass. Alright?” the vulnerable California Republican warned an activist who confronted him outside his Simi Valley office. Knight, who in January replaced retired GOP Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon, is facing a steep learning curve when it comes to fundraising (according to the latest Federal Election Commission data, Knight collected under $29,000 this past quarter).
The weekend exchange, first reported by SCVTalk blogger Mike Devlin , was captured by supporters of the immigration-reduction outfit NumbersUSA . NumbersUSA has effectively declared open season on Southern California pols. Organizers have attempted to hold elected officials accountable on Homeland Security issues by dispatching camera-ready emissaries to public events in the hopes of stirring things up.
The group interrogated Knight not once, not twice, but thrice during an open house held at a district office in March.
“I have dealt with this group on several occasions and every time they try to escalate our conversations to a level that is not constructive. Over this past weekend, I lost my cool and I regret responding the way I did,” Knight said in a statement shared with HOH.
Others who’ve been subjected to intense scrutiny include:
Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif.
Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif.
And Rep. Mimi Walters, R-Calif.
Don’t worry. Out-of-towners are savaged just the same.
Or so learned visiting Rep. Luis V. Gutiérrez, D-Ill., after being jeered at during a swing through town to support Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif.
A Knight aide told HOH the traveling congressman would be better positioned to weigh in on the verbal scuffle once he touches down in D.C.
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