The House Judiciary Committee’s hearing on crime in New York City was briefly interrupted by a man who apparently had strong views about the local district attorney, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) — and Ralph Nader.
During the hearing focused on “Victims of Violent Crime in Manhattan” that took place in New York City, Schiff was interrupted during his opening statements.
Schiff claimed House Republicans were acting like the “criminal defense counsel for Donald J. Trump.”
“Well, let me tell you this,” Schiff continued before a man in the audience began shouting.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the chairman of the committee, sought to regain order in the room as he asked members of the Capitol Police to remove the man.
The man continued to shout and was heard saying, “You’re a scumbag!”
Watch the moment below:
"You're a scumbag!"
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) April 17, 2023
Man insults Adam Schiff during a hearing on crime in NYC.pic.twitter.com/ASltRhlFEk
The heckler continued to shout about Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose investigation into former President Donald Trump yielded the first-ever indictment of a former president.
Jordan said, “No, you gotta go. You gotta go. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’ve given you several warnings. You gotta go, unfortunately.”
Finally, the man shouted something about political activist Ralph Nader.
He added, “I love you, Jim Jordan!”
Schiff quipped, “That was a very unfortunate attack on Ralph Nader.”
WABC reports, “The House Judiciary Committee, led by Ohio Republican Jim Jordan, held a field hearing Monday near Bragg’s offices to examine the Democrat’s ‘pro-crime, anti-victim’ policies.”
New York City has “lost its way when it comes to fighting crime and upholding the law,” Jordan said. “Here in Manhattan, the scales of justice are weighed down by politics. For the district attorney, justice isn’t blind – it’s about advancing opportunities to promote a political agenda – a radical political agenda.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams dismissed the hearing as a stunt.
“It is really troubling that American taxpayers’ dollars are being used to come here on this junket to do an examination of the safest big city in America instead of focusing on the real over-proliferation of guns that we have witnessed,” he said during a press conference before the proceeding.