DENVER (AP) 鈥� Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert apologized Friday after getting kicked out of a musical play in Colorado last weekend for disruptive behavior and then falsely denying she had been vaping.
The apology came a day after surveillance video emerged that showed Boebert vaping at her seat in a Denver theater. Her campaign earlier denied the theater's contention that she had been vaping.
The normally combative Boebert said in a Friday statement that her actions were not meant to be malicious or cause harm 鈥渂ut the reality is they did.鈥�
She was kicked out of the 鈥淏eetlejuice鈥� musical last Sunday following complaints from people in the audience that she and another guest were vaping, singing, using phones and causing a disturbance.
When the lights were still on and as people were taking their seats around Boebert, she could be seen in the surveillance video putting her hand to her mouth then blowing out a cloud of vapor. After the lights went off, the footage showed Boebert dancing in her seat and flashes from her phone as she held it up and appeared to take photos of herself during the performance.
Two days after the incident, Boebert posted in social media: 鈥淚t鈥檚 true, I did thoroughly enjoy the AMAZING Beetlejuice at the Buell Theatre and I plead guilty to laughing and singing too loud!鈥�
Boebert noted in her statement that she has been going through a divorce and said her behavior was unacceptable.
鈥淚 genuinely did not recall vaping that evening when I discussed the night's events with my campaign manager,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e do understand the nature of how this looks.鈥�
In her relatively short time in Washington, Boebert built a national profile and has aligned with the extreme right wing of the GOP. Her assertive style has grabbed media headlines, most famously when she during his 2022 State of the Union address.
She is in her second term in Colorado鈥檚 3rd Congressional District, largely covering the state鈥檚 western half.
The city-owned Buell Theater did not name Boebert when it released the video clips from surveillance cameras that showed the congresswoman and her companion being led out of the theater by members of its staff.
During the confrontation, the two made comments along the lines of 鈥渄o you know who I am鈥� and 鈥淚 will be contacting the mayor,鈥� according to theater representatives.
The two guests at first refused to leave the venue, even after an employee threatened to get the police, the theater said. Once a police officer was on the way, the two left, the theater said.
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Brown reported from Billings, Mont.
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Jesse Bedayn is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Jesse Bedayn And Matthew Brown, The Associated Press
