During President Donald Trump’s visit to the Capitol last week, an intern for Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) shouted, “Mr. President, fuck you!” and God smiled.
Unfortunately, as an intern, you cannot shout such things, and Hassan’s staff has suspended the courageous young woman for a week and will limit her access in the Capitol for the remainder of her internship.
“We are aware of the situation and have taken disciplinary action, including a one-week suspension and revoking her Congressional intern ID badge (thereby restricting her access to the Capitol), in response to her breach of office policies regarding respectful and appropriate conduct. We also facilitated contact with Capitol Police,” Aaron Jacobs, Hassan’s communications director, told The Hill in a statement.
While Hassan’s office did not respond to The Hill’s request for the intern’s name, several news outlets have identified her as Caitlin Marriott.
Video of Marriott’s unfettered patriotism was captured by NBC reporter Frank Thorp and went viral on social media. The president was on his way to discuss his draconian immigration policy with his fellow white supremacists, known as the GOP.
The Hill notes that Marriott’s suspension comes at a time when the debate over civility in politics has become a hot-button issue:
In separate instances last week, protesters confronted White House aide Stephen Miller and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen while they dined at Mexican restaurants in Washington, D.C.
A Virginia restaurant owner over the weekend threw fuel on the fire when it refused to serve White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, citing her support for Trump’s policies.
Rep. Maxine Water (D-Calif.) then drew criticism when she encouraged her supporters to confront Trump administration officials in public places. She has defended the comments, noting that she did not call for violence and that the president himself has threatened individuals during rallies and mocked his opponents.
Caitlin Marriott, if you’re reading this, just know that America’s truest heroes are never celebrated in the moment, but here’s hoping that history remembers you fondly.