Representative Chuy Garcia later blamed the tweet on a member of his staff
In a foul-mouthed tirade, Illinois Rep. Chuy Garcia called a critic of a recently passed gun control bill “borderline retarded,” and a “f**king dips**t.” The Chicago Democrat then promised to discipline the staffer he claimed sent the “absolutely inappropriate” tweet.
Garcia, who describes himself as a “Progressive Chicagoan,” voted on Friday to ban so-called ‘assault weapons,’ a category of firearms that Democrats say encompasses all semi-automatic rifles, pistols, and shotguns with high-capacity magazines and “military features.”
When Garcia tweeted about his vote, an anonymous Twitter account with just over 750 followers declared that he “never even heard of this guy and I won’t comply even if his silly law passes.”
Garcia responded with a tirade of abuse, tweeting “You are borderline retarded, ya f**king dips**t.”
Rep. Chuy García (D-IL) tweeted profanities and a slur in response to a random Twitter account with 531 followers who trolled him. pic.twitter.com/LUjqWnDoxd
— Joseph A. Wulfsohn (@JosephWulfsohn) July 30, 2022
“Did I make the worthless little congressman upset?” the anonymous poster responded, before Garcia deleted both his original tweet and his lewd response.
While Garcia’s supporters urged him to stand by his profane tweet, his spokesperson issued a statement on Saturday explaining that the “unauthorized” outburst was posted by a member of the Illinois congressman’s staff, and that “profanities and offensive language to individuals living with disabilities” are “inconsistent with Congressman Garcia’s history, values, and character.”
“The individual responsible will be held accountable and appropriate disciplinary action will be taken,” the statement concluded.
Statement from Congressman García’s Spokesperson, Fabiola Rodríguez-Ciampoli: pic.twitter.com/SyagCscHA0
— Congressman Chuy García (@RepChuyGarcia) July 30, 2022
Garcia’s vote will ultimately matter little when it comes to actually making the gun control bill law. The bill narrowly passed the House with 217 votes to 213, with two Republicans crossing party lines to support it, and five Democrats defecting to oppose. It needs 60 votes in the Senate to reach President Joe Biden’s desk, an unlikely prospect considering both parties hold 50 seats in the upper chamber, and it is unclear whether the measure even has the support of all 50 Democrats.
