Congressman Spit On By Tea Party Protester (VIDEO)

Last weekend, as the House of Representatives gathered to debate health care reform while Tea Partiers protested outside the Capitol, word emerged that Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) had been spit on by one of the demonstrators.

Cleaver released a statement confirming the incident, but some questioned his claims. Fox News personality Sean Hannity asked if there was any evidence proving that it had actually happened, and Tea Party groups offered a cash reward for proof.

Now video has emerged. Take a look and judge for yourself:

Comments

[Schaef]

01:27 PM on 04/25/2010

Wow, what an amazing video of a man cupping his hands and shouting at people. You must be proud.

[DawnKessler]

08:10 PM on 04/05/2010

http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-finger-bitten-rally,0,7135717.story Ok, here's the finger incident. Wow, it took me Google and 3 words to find it. You people who say that you have looked all over the net and couldn't find anything must be just checking out far left blogs, lol. How do you people survive being so incredibly imbecillic and un, mis and disinformed? Unbelievable. Funny but a little scary at the same time!

[johnr49]

08:45 PM on 04/05/2010

So the incident happened during a fist fight, which the guy who lost the end of his finger admits starting?

[Fubeca]

12:27 AM on 04/05/2010

Well would you look at this!!!!!!!!
http://www.weaselzippers.net/blog/2010/04/black-dem-rep-who-was-reportedly-spit-on-by-tea-party-protester-i-never-claimed-to-have-been-spit-on.html
Black Dem Rep. Who Was Reportedly Spit on by Tea Party Protester: I Never Claimed to Have Been Spit on Intentionally, Others Are Making the Claim on My Behalf, Refuses to Confirm it Happened...

[johnr49]

02:36 AM on 04/05/2010

Sure, a right-wing blog is really a reputable source.

[truamerican29]

03:22 PM on 04/02/2010

"I'm sick and tired of people who say that if you debate and disagree with this administration, somehow you're not patriotic. We need to stand up and say we're Americans, and we have the right to debate and disagree with any administration." Hillary Rodhan Clinton

" We are Americans, We have the right to participate and debate any administration. " Hillary Rodhan Clinton

[Tyler-Durden]

02:33 PM on 04/15/2010

well the rest of us are sick and tired of people who think that LYING is effective DEBATE.

it isn't.

[b-dob]

06:17 PM on 04/01/2010

Does anybody immediately think of the Seinfeld episode with Keith Hernandez? There must be a mystery "2nd spitter".

[sissyreed]

06:28 PM on 03/31/2010

The man who had his finger bitten off was on Neil Cavuto's show. He held up his hand a & showed the finger gone. He was simply passing by a MoveOn.org rally, got involved in incident, one of the protesters bit his finger off & took off running. They showed video of the man, running away. No one there would tell the police who he was so he could be found & prosecuted. The man's finger was found, but could not be reattached. It happened, yet noone in the news media brought it to light until Fox did & they only did to prove the hypocracy of the left.

[JaCqieBHO]

08:50 AM on 04/01/2010

Why took them so long....i know why..they were making it up as you do...by the way do you mind showing us a link or anything at all to prove your case? ..we know Fox love to make things up ..and if the finger was bitten of and NO one was charged..to me this sounds like a made up story..there is no way something like that could have happened and nobody was charged..NOWAY

[BobHH]

10:14 PM on 04/10/2010

Sounds like something the lame stream media would do doesn't it JaCqieBHO? Amazing isn't it.....

[Tyler-Durden]

02:38 PM on 04/15/2010

he was not "simply passing by".

he was involved in an argument, he threw the first punch, and he lost a finger tip. sounds like karma to me!

BUT THANX FOR TRYING TO PROPAGATE THE LIE so we can inject some TRUTH into your rhetoric.

[shamsky24]

03:52 PM on 03/31/2010

Can't find even a single newspaper article about this poor anti-Obama protester who had his finger bitten off -- no name, no date, no anything. The only sources reporting it are right-wing bloggers. Smells like a load of BS to me.

[lib4life19]

03:05 PM on 04/05/2010

http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-finger-bitten-rally,0,7135717.story

[mivogo]

01:57 PM on 03/31/2010

The Douchebaggers are at it again. Prove he spit! Ok, here's the proof.
And our apology is--it was his fault!
Yeech.

[ThomasJohnston]

01:49 PM on 03/31/2010

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[MSMSucksCom]

01:44 PM on 03/31/2010

OK, as much as I don't like this public display because it looks like a K KK gathering to me, I don't think he was spat upon. It was an unintended act (spittle while screaming) by the guy in the blue shirt, white ball cap and sunglasses. How so?

Later in the video you see the congressman return to where the alleged spitter is standing. This time the victim is with a black police officer. Despite standing directly in front of the guy he earlier had words with about him spitting (the blue shirt, white cap, sunglasses guy) the congressman does not point to him as the spitter.

Instead you see the congressman gesture that it's a short person who did the spitting. On seeing that gesture I played the video to find a short "spitter." There was none.

Further, notice that the alleged spitter did not panic, did not seem concerned nor did he flee. This is because he knows did not commit a crime. He was not concerned.

Lastly notice that the congressman wipes his face to clean off the supposed spit. I submit that if it was a real spit (as opposed to a few drops of spittle), he would have used a handkerchief or something from somebody, not his hand. Spit you instinctively wipe off right away, not later while walking away.

I don't see it as an intentional spitting, much as I wish it was and the person arrested.

[Benjamin Woerner]

08:02 PM on 04/26/2010

You're assuming a lot. And he did instinctively wipe away spit immediately. He wiped away more later right in shot, but look back again, and try not to be biased against him. Just look for facts.

[patches12]

12:49 PM on 03/31/2010

I had a college professor who was nicknamed the "shower". He spat when he taught... didn't mean it but I learned quickly to avoid the front row.. THIS WAS NOT DELIBERATE!!

[Hoosierbrad]

01:30 PM on 03/31/2010

Oh, but based upon the demeanor of this crowd, certain assumptions can be made about flying saliva.

[PinkOne]

08:30 AM on 03/31/2010

“It” came from Wasilla, inciting violence against our federal government and our democratic leaders and members of our senate and congress “its” call for violence is veiled behind coded messages about basketball March madness on “its” face book page. “Its” message to pull out the “BIG GUNS” is clearly is calling for violence in our great country. “It” will be the demise of the Republican Party. “Its” name is Sarah Palin.

[UNLVGOP]

10:40 AM on 03/31/2010

Don't forget about the death threats that AIG employees got from all the ACORN and SEIU protesters when everyone in the media went after them...

also, don't forget about the SEIU members that attacked somebody at a townhall who was against Obamacare....

and don't forget about the SEIU member that bit off an anti-obamacare protester's finger.

The only violence has come from the left. Only crazy leftie's like you can turn a regular expression, "big guns" into violence talk......

[DawnKessler]

08:26 PM on 04/05/2010

Wow, you're a real nut. Do you have ANY brains at all? Do you have any sense whatsoever?

[johnr49]

08:51 PM on 04/05/2010

Yes, she does - stop projecting.

[tigereon]

07:56 AM on 03/31/2010

I have actually offered a COUNTER $10,000 reward to the Tea Party for proof that they are not racist and dont have elements of white supremacist organizations in their groups....so far NOT ONE REPLY take a look

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NMfc8Mqe34

[jlyn]

06:51 AM on 03/31/2010

It looks as though this incident was just a fool screaming and blowing spittle in his zeal. The congressman was not looking directly at the man, so when he felt the spit, I am sure he thought it was intentional. But I have seen other video of a man in a straw hat with sunglasses lean over and hock one off. I believe it was on YouTube. It was not an accident; it is quite clear that it was intentional.

[Benjamin Woerner]

08:03 PM on 04/26/2010

Link or it's not real.

[gsteinum]

06:24 AM on 03/31/2010

whatever possessed congressmen to allow protestors to get that close in the first place? they had no clue that baggers existed?? they thought everyone favored te bill??? i didn't notice anyone wearing bullet proof vests. i think they can all count themselves as very fortunate that noone got shot. the security guard that was escorting the man that got spat on seemed more interested in encouraging him through the entrance than protecting him. her head was pointed towards him for the most part, and she made repeated gestures that seemed to be designed to encourage him to continue walking. badly handled. no wonder it became such a spectacle.

[Jesse in Maryland]

09:32 AM on 03/31/2010

The congressmen chose to walk through a crowd of protesters that was already there, instead of using the many tunnels and walkways that are available to congressmen and their staff. It was an "in your face" move by Pelosi and those Democrats. As far as spitting, I didn't see any evidence of that. The guy was shouting with his hands cupped over his mouth. If there was any spit, it was probably just spittle from shouting that loudly.

As far as worrying about actual violence, I think the evidence of dozens of Tea Party protests has shown that you'd worry more about violence if thousands of anti-war activists came to town. Ironic, but true.

[CityGardner]

11:13 AM on 03/31/2010

How does labeling any group as "protestors" let them dishonor the U.S. with a gross insult to the congressman and to our government? The spitter and rightwing media all know that our laws haven't changed, because they all immediately lied about it. Loudly.

They can't have it both ways. If hate and insults actually are their warped idea of freedom, then the spitter would have been loud and proud. They weren't So we have a problem as a nation - the "protestors" are what they look like - hate-filled disturbed individuals who actively want to destabilize our own government.

Either way, the huge majority of Americans who voted for President Obama need for normal people on the right to explain why their "protestors" act like hired thugs instead of citizens... and why anyone would even pretend to believe that a U.S. congressman has to stay out of their way.

[mivogo]

01:55 PM on 03/31/2010

Wow, the congressman chose to walk through the front door! I'll bet your the type of guy who when a woman wearing a necklace gets it ripped off her neck in public, blames the woman for wearing it, right? Give me a break!
But that's the Republican/douchebagger strategy--blame the victim.
Prove he spit! Ok, here's the proof.
And my sincere apology is--it was his fault!