A Republican congressman threatened to fight a protester during a heated exchange over President Obama’s illegal-immigration order.
“If you touch me again, I’ll drop your ass,” Rep. Stephen Knight (R-Calif.) told a protester in a YouTube video posted over the weekend.
{mosads}The confrontation escalated after one protester accused Knight of voting to grant “executive amnesty” to undocumented immigrants.
The protesters held signs that read “stop illegal immigration” and “secure the border.”
“You told me you didn’t vote for amnesty and you did. I looked it up on the Internet. You lied to me,” a protester named Mike told Knight, before patting the congressman on the shoulder and walking away.
Knight, an Army veteran and longtime Los Angeles police officer, went over to the protester and confronted him.
“Mike, Mike,” Knight says. “Hey, if you touch me again, I’ll drop your ass. All right? Don’t, don’t touch me. Don’t, don’t touch me. Don’t touch me.”
“One more time, Mike,” he added.
Knight told the protesters he did not vote to allow illegal immigrants to stay in the country.
“Understand, I never voted for amnesty,” he said. “The first version had the amnesty in it. I voted to not allow the president to do that. I voted not.”
The video was posted online by We The People Rising, a group that is opposed to illegal immigration.
Knight, a freshman elected with 53 percent of the vote in 2014, is a top target for House Democrats next year.
The Los Angeles Times reported last week that Knight has raised only $40,800 for his reelection and has $29,000 in cash on hand. His campaign is also more than $52,000 in debt, the Times reported.
— This story was updated at 4:18 p.m.