GOP lawmaker punked by Sacha Baron Cohen now admits: My 'paralyzing fear' of terrorists compelled me to drop my pants on camera

Georgia state Rep. Jason Spencer, who was duped by comedian Sacha Baron Cohen into dropping his pants on camera and pretending to be gay as a way to defeat terrorists, is lashing out after being humiliated on a national stage.

In a statement given to the Washington Post's Steve Zeitchik, Spencer accused Cohen of preying on his fears of being killed in a terrorist attack to trick him into taking part in his bogus "self-defense" class.

"In 2017 I received countless death threats in connection with my introduction of legislation involving the wearing of masks," Spencer wrote to Zeitchik. "The threats escalated to the point that my wife received threatening phone calls concerning her and my children... Sacha Baron Cohen and his associates took advantage of my paralyzing fear that my family would be attacked."

Spencer went on to claim that he was initially reluctant to pull down his pants and yell, "I'll touch you with my butt!" at prospective terrorists during a drill in Cohen's phony class, but he said his fear of terrorists was so great that it clouded his judgement.

"As uncomfortable as I was to participate, I agreed to, understanding that these ‘techniques’ were meant to help me and others fend off what I believed was an inevitable attack," he says. "My fears were so heightened at that time, I was not thinking clearly nor could I appreciate what I was agreeing to when I participated in his 'class.'"