Rep. Matt Gaetz said Thursday he would be pressing charges against a woman who threw a beverage at him earlier this June.
“I had a circumstance just a few weeks ago where someone threw a drink at me leaving a town hall meeting. I am going to press charges. It’s really important to send a message that we as conservatives have a right to our views — just like anybody else. We’re not backing down,” the Florida Republican tweeted[1].
Mr. Gaetz said Wednesday night on Fox’s “Hannity” that the incident[2] shows why Republicans are “winning elections and winning the culture war.”
“If there are no consequences, then maybe it is me getting hit with a drink one time, but what if it is a member of my staff? What if instead of a drink it is acid or urine, or something else like that? People that behave this way should face the consequences before a court,” he said.
Mr. Gaetz is the first documented American politician to be affected by “milkshaking,” a social media trend in the U.K. where right-wing politicians are pelted with dessert beverages.
One McDonald’s in the United Kingdom in May was temporarily ordered to ...
cease[3] selling milkshakes near a rally for politician Nigel Farage after officials were afraid the drinks would be used as weapons.