A freshman congressman on Friday colorfully warned a protester not to touch him during a terse exchange about immigration.
Rep. Steve Knight (R-CA) mixed it up with a protester he called “Mike,” who accused him of voting for amnesty at an open house event for his Simi Valley, Calif. office. SantaClarita.com posted video of their exchange.
“You told me you didn’t vote for amnesty and you did. I looked it up on the Internet,” the man said as he firmly shook Knight’s hand. “You lied to me,” he added while slapping the congressman’s shoulder.
Knight then approached the man and grabbed his forearm.
“Okay Mike, hey. If you touch me again, I’ll drop your ass,” Knight said. “Don’t touch me.”
“I shook your hand,” the man protested.
“One more time, Mike,” Knight warned. “Understand, I never voted for amnesty. Never.”
Knight then challenged the group of protesters as to whether they’d read all of the versions of the bill that they said granted amnesty to undocumented immigrants. He pointed out that he’d voted in favor of a version of the bill that “stripped out the amnesty” while funding the Department of Homeland Security.
Watch below: