Houston congressman harassed at airport; calls it ‘weaponization of hate’

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Hours after he was screamed at in an airport on the way home from Washington, D.C., Houston Democratic Congressman Al Green increased his calls for impeaching President Donald Trump.

“The root cause of this [impeachment] is the weaponization of hate by this president,” Green said Friday. “Now, we want to impeach [Trump], but impeaching him for specifically what happened with the insurrection is not enough. We need to add to the articles of impeachment the weaponization of hate.”

Video posted to Twitter on Thursday shows Green in during a flight change at the Nashville, Tennessee airport. Trump supporters spotted Green leaving the plane, shouting “Four more years,” and then, “Traitor” and “You’re a disgrace” at the Houston Democrat.

Another called him “a dirt bag.” Green just continued walking.

He later boarded a flight to Houston without incident according to the Twitter user who shot the video.

Green has signed on to three circulating drafts of Articles of Impeachment.

House Democrats spoke on the phone for hours Friday afternoon. ABC News is reporting at least 130 House Democrats have signed on to a single Article of Impeachment that could be introduced as soon as Monday.

It cites Trump’s speech to a D.C. crowd before the U.S. Capitol was stormed and Trump’s call to the Georgia Secretary of State, concluding “President Trump gravely endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of government. He threatened the integrity of the democratic system.”

It is unclear if Congress could carry out an impeachment vote and trial before Joe Biden is sworn in on Jan. 20. ABC News reports Senate parliamentarians said the earliest a Senate trial could begin is Jan. 19.

The tight timetable may not matter to Democrats. Houston Democrat Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee told ABC13 there is time to carry it out and even if a Senate trial could not be finished in time, “nothing diminishes the fact that you have been impeached and indicted. And in the record, it says that you provoked a coup against the United States of America. It would be appropriate for [President Trump] to resign at this time. If not, you certainly need to move on an impeachment resolution and move as quickly as possible.”

Trump has not commented on the impeachment push. Republican Sen. Ted Cruz called it “vindictive”.