U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), with House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY), speaks to reporters after meeting with survivors of abuse at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 2, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Two Republican lawmakers disrupted a solemn moment on the House floor Wednesday honoring conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, who had been shot and hospitalized earlier in the day, by turning their attention toward their Democratic colleagues.
Kirk died Wednesday following a shooting at Utah Valley University. The incident occurred during his “American Comeback Tour,” where he was participating in a question-and-answer session while sitting cross-legged on a table under a tent.
According to Politico, when Speaker Mike Johnson (R‑La.) asked members to rise for a prayer for Kirk, who was alive but hospitalized at the time, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R‑Colo.) pressed for it to be spoken aloud. Migrant Insider editor Pablo Manriquez tweeted that "partisan shouting" broke out after the moment of silence.
“Silent prayers get silent results,” she said, leading to jeers from Democrats, with some shouting about a school shooting in Colorado that also happened on Wednesday, in which three high school students were injured. Shouting can be heard on the video of the moment posted to C-SPAN's Instagram account.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R‑Fla.) stood up and started shouting expletives at the Democrats before Johnson gaveled lawmakers down.
Earlier Wednesday, she had posted on social media that she was “done with the rhetoric this rotten House and corrupt media has caused.”
“This is disgusting,” said a House Republican granted anonymity to react candidly to the clash.