Things got out of hand yesterday at the Texas House of Representatives.
The final day of the 85th legislative session was disrupted by an organized mob of self-described illegal aliens who were protesting the ban on santuary cities. After losing patience with the mob tactics, Rep. Matt Rinaldi announced from the floor that he’d called federal immigration officials to deal with them. At that point, Democrats, including Rep. Pancho Nevarez, aka “Panic Button Poncho,” physically attacked him and began a shoving match that cleared the dugouts.
Rinaldi claims that Nevarez threatened his life, saying he’d “get him” in the parking lot. Rinaldi fired back that any such attempt would be met with lethal force.
Longtime readers will note the irony. After a contentious meeting with pro-gun activists in 2015, Rep. Nevarez said that he felt threatened and asked for “panic buttons” to be installed in legislative offices.
If Rep. Nevarez has indeed adopted “legislation by death threat” as a tactic, one wonders whether his Republican colleague Rep. Drew Springer still has his “I’m Poncho” sticker.
Republican Rep. Drew Springer in 2015