When Representative Lauren Boebert (R-CO) who supports Christian Nationalism visited George Washington University (GW) yesterday to express discontent about a pro-Palestinian encampment there, students kept shouting “Beetlejuice!” at her. The insult referenced the occasion when she was kicked out of a theater during a performance of Beetlejuice: The Musical after she was caught vaping, touching her date inappropriately, and making a rude gesture towards an usher. It’s not the first time critics have used the incident to mock her.
Boebert visited the university’s campus in Washington D.C. on Wednesday to observe the encampment along with other House Republicans, including Reps. Byron Donalds (FL), Anna Paulina Luna (FL), and James Comer (KY). Students from GW and other D.C. area colleges and universities set up the encampment last week.
During her visit, Boebert tried to remove a Palestinian flag hanging from a statue. She instructed others to take down the flag, stating that the statue is federal property. Speaking to a group at GW, Boebert mentioned the encampment, saying, “If [GW doesn’t] want to do something to address this? Well, then kiss your federal funding goodbye,” Business Insider reported.
While Boebert was speaking, students started shouting “Beetlejuice!” and singing “The Imperial March” from the science-fiction film series Star Wars, the University’s student newspaper, The GW Hatchet, reported. The films’ marching tune is linked to Darth Vader, a ruthless dictator.
This isn’t the first time people have used Boebert’s Beetlejuice incident to ridicule the anti-LGBTQ congresswoman. On Halloween 2023, Boebert’s then-constituents teased her by placing Beetlejuice decorations outside of her local offices and gave out candy that highlights her “scary” voting record.
At the Washington Press Club Foundation’s annual congressional dinner last February, Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI) made a joke, “Please keep your hands above the table, and I know it’s date night for some of you, but no inappropriate touching. That includes you Lauren Boebert. No vaping either.”
At last weekend’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner, President Joe Biden quipped, “Look, being here is a reminder that folks think what’s going on in Congress is political theater. That’s not true. If Congress were a theater, they’d have thrown out Lauren Boebert a long time ago.”
GW has disciplined several students for refusing to leave the encampment, and the university has repeatedly asked D.C. Metro Police Department (MPD) to help clear the encampment. Nevertheless, the police have apparently declined to intervene, according to WTOP.
Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has mentioned that she and other city officials have been in touch with GW. Metro Police are monitoring the encampment — so far, no violence has erupted between the pro-Palestine protest and pro-Israel counterprotests, CNN reported.
However, Comer recently declared a House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing about the GW protests to take place next week. He has summoned Mayor Bowser and the chief of the MPD as witnesses. In response to student protests happening in Republicans’ home states, Bowser replied, “The members have universities in their own districts … It would seem that their efforts would be better focused there.”
Other makeshift settlements have appeared at colleges and university campuses throughout the country.
Around 35,000 Palestinians have passed away in Gaza since Israel started its military retaliation to the October 7, 2023 Hamas extremist attacks on Israeli civilians. In the International Court of Justice, Israel is currently accused of committing genocide against Palestinian Arabs by blocking food, hindering aid workers, and targeting civilian infrastructure, Human Rights Watch stated.
