Rep. Jasmine Crockett Faces Backlash Over Incident at Campaign Event

On Thursday, Representative Jasmine Crockett drew criticism online after an armed security detail reportedly removed an Atlantic journalist from a Texas Senate campaign rally.

Journalist Elaine Godfrey had just finished covering a Crockett event in Lubbock when she was approached by a “woman wearing a badge.” It was shortly before she was set to interview a Democratic activist. Godfrey recounted the interaction in a magazine article.

The woman informed her, “Her team asked you to leave,” despite having acknowledged the press earlier that day. When Godfrey inquired about the reason for her removal, she was told, “They just said, ‘Elaine from the Atlantic, this white girl with a hat and a notepad. She’s interviewing people in the crowd. She’s a first-rate asshole and she’s going to spin. She has to go away.'”

Godfrey mentioned that four security guards, including at least one armed guard, escorted her out of the venue and arranged for her to be taken “to the edge of a nearby highway.”

This wasn’t the first time Crockett had clashed with Godfrey, who earlier wrote about Crockett’s efforts to shut down dissent.

Online reactions from prominent Senate candidates who witnessed the event were swift and varied. Chris Sillizza, a seasoned political journalist, tweeted, “This is so terrible [Crockett]. We’re not ready for something like prime time.”

Zaid Jilani, a progressive journalist, commented, “If you think Jasmine Crockett can convince hundreds of thousands of moderate to conservative Texans to change their voting behavior when she can’t even convince a short liberal white female reporter…”

Tommy Vieter, a former Obama staffer and co-host of “Pod Save America,” expressed disbelief. “The Crockett camp had armed guards remove Atlantic reporters from the event??? Why???” he tweeted.

Another social media user remarked, “The optics here look terrible,” pointing to the incident as damaging.

Some users added a layer of irony, suggesting that Democrats might be overly paranoid about American reporters, particularly regarding the Atlantic’s perceived liberal bias.

Crockett’s office has not released any comment regarding this incident. Meanwhile, she claimed there was “no evidence” that Godfrey had been removed and suggested, rather strangely, that the journalist had faced allegations of “defamation,” which Godfrey has denied.

Currently, Crockett holds a narrow 3-point lead over state Representative James Talarico in the Texas Democratic Senate primary, as per the latest RealClearPolitics polling average.

The primary election is set for March 3rd.