3 Democratic Reps Test Positive for COVID-19 After Sequestering With Unmasked Republicans

Three Democratic Representatives from the House of Representatives have tested positive for COVID-19 after sheltering with GOP representatives during the Capitol riots last week.

Over 100 lawmakers were hiding from the violent mob storming the Capitol last week in enclosed rooms where several GOP members refused offered masks and insulted those who chose to wear them. Those who tested positive include Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.). GOP Reps. Jake LaTurner (Kan.) and Chuck Fleischmann (Tenn.), have also tested positive for COVID-19 since the attack, but both have said they were not in the same room as the others.

In a video leaked to Punchbowl News, viewers can see Republican Reps. Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Michael Cloud (Texas), Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), Doug LaMalfa (Calif.), Markwayne Mullin (Okla.), and Scott Perry (Pa.) refusing to wear masks offered to them by Democratic Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.):

Though not appearing in the video, fellow GOP Reps. Mo Brooks (Ala.), Paul Gosar (Ariz.), and Matt Gaetz (Fla.) also refused to mask up. Watson Coleman, a 75-year-old cancer survivor, announced she tested positive on Twitter, as did Schneider:

I want to update everyone. While I feel ok, on my doctor’s advice I’m on my way to a local hospital for monoclonal antibody treatment.

I thank you for the outpouring of supportive messages.
The love you’ve sent has been overwhelming.

Please, wear a mask and social distance. https://t.co/TAK9Nf7lvN

— Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (@RepBonnie) January 11, 2021

Wearing a mask is not a political statement, it is public health guidance, common courtesy, and simply what should be expected of all decent people.

— Rep. Brad Schneider (@RepSchneider) January 12, 2021

Rep. Jayapal, who chairs Congressional Progressive Caucus, has released a statement via her website, where she said “The duration in the room was multiple hours and several Republicans not only cruelly refused to wear a mask but mocked colleagues and staff who offered them one.” Japayal continued:

“Too many Republicans have refused to take this pandemic and virus seriously, and in doing so, they endanger everyone around them. Only hours after President Trump incited a deadly assault on our Capitol, our country, and our democracy, many Republicans still refused to take the bare minimum COVID-19 precaution and simply wear a damn mask in a crowded room during a pandemic — creating a superspreader event on top of a domestic terrorist attack.

I am also calling for serious fines to be immediately levied on every single Member who refuses to wear a mask in the Capitol … Additionally, any Member who refuses to wear a mask should be immediately removed from the floor by the Sergeant at Arms. This is not a joke. Our lives and our livelihoods are at risk, and anyone who refuses to wear a mask should be fully held accountable for endangering our lives because of their selfish idiocy.”

It is truly infuriating that these selfish and ignorant Republicans have wreaked so much havoc in a single week. The fact that they were joking and glad-handing while the very cult they whipped up was invading the Capitol is abhorrent. And to add literal injury to insult, they’ve infected who knows how many lawmakers and congressional staffers with their monstrous behavior. If there’s any justice, they will be removed from office, but sadly, that seems unlikely.

We wish Reps. Jayapal, Schneider, and Watson Coleman a swift recovery.

(via HuffPost, featured image: Mandel Ngan-Pool/Getty Images)

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