A freshman Republican U.S. Congressman who had been “heard partying loudly” in his congressional office that reportedly was filled with alcohol in full view, is doubling down and defending his actions against a group of 16 and 17 year-old U.S. Senate pages he had cursed out as they tried to take photos of the iconic U.S. Capitol Rotunda on Wednesday. It’s not the first time Derrick Van Orden has been verbally abusive to teenagers in public.
“Wake the f*ck up you little sh*ts,” Congressman Van Orden, Republican of Wisconsin who was endorsed by Donald Trump told the teenaged Senate pages, according to a transcript one of them wrote down, as The Hill reports. Punchbowl News was first to report the incident.
“What the f*ck are you all doing? Get the f*ck out of here. You are defiling the space you [pieces of sh*t].”
“Who the f*ck are you?” he reportedly asked.
When told they were Senate pages, Van Orden is said to have replied, “I don’t give a f*ck who you are, get out.”
“You j*ck*sses, get out,” he added.
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Punchbowl News’ Max Cohen posted a photo of Van Orden’s office and reports, “Van Orden and staff were heard partying loudly before he cursed out a group of teenage Senate pages.”
Van Orden did not deny the teenagers’ account, and defended his actions in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which reported an aide claimed the Congressman had been giving a late night tour to about 50 people before verbally abusing the teens.
It’s unclear why Rep. Van Orden would be giving a tour of the U.S. Capitol to such a large group, around midnight. It’s also unclear why, as Punchbowl News reported, there was so much alcohol in his office.
In a statement Van Orden defended his actions by invoking the Civil War.
“The Capitol Rotunda served as a field hospital where countless Union soldiers died fighting to free men in the Civil War. I have long said our nation’s Capitol is a symbol of the sacrifice our servicemen and women have made for this country and should never be treated like a frat house common room. Threatening a congressman with bad press to excuse poor behavior is a reminder of everything that’s wrong with Washington. Luckily, bad press has never bothered me and if it’s the price I pay to stand up for what’s right, then so be it.”
Van Orden has had plenty of bad press.
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In 2021, while still a congressional candidate Van Orden verbally attacked a 17-year old public library page over a display of LGBTQ children’s books during Pride Month.
“A staffer at a southwestern Wisconsin library says a Republican congressional candidate threatened her over a gay pride display,” the Associated Press had reported. “Kerrigan Trautsch, a page at the Prairie du Chien Memorial Library, told the La Crosse Tribune that Derrick Van Orden came into the library on June 17 and complained loudly about a display of fiction and nonfiction books about homosexuality in the children’s section.”
Trautsch “said Van Orden was angry, and that he said the books offended him and that taxpayers shouldn’t have to see them.”
“His voice was loud, he was aggressive, he had his finger jabbing into (the book) constantly,” Trautsch said and called the situation “very uncomfortable, threatening.”
“He was full-on shouting at this point and he kept aggressively shoving the books around,” she also said.
“He was especially upset about the 2018 book, “A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo.” The 40-page book put out by John Oliver’s weekly HBO news show, “Last Week Tonight,” tells the fictional story of how Marlon Bundo, former Vice President Mike Pence’s real-life rabbit, marries another rabbit of the same sex.”
The Journal Sentinel also reported, “Democrats on Thursday were quick to attack Van Orden for Wednesday night’s actions, with many pointing to Van Orden’s presence outside the Capitol during the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, as evidence of disrespecting the Capitol and its history. Van Orden maintains he did not enter the Capitol that day.”
“Wonder if he told that to his fellow insurrectionists, who were beating police officers on the same ground?” Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, tweeted.
Ben Wikler, the Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, wrote: “Empty liquor bottles in his office. Then an obscenity-laden rant at high schoolers—who were laying down in the Rotunda to take pictures of the amazing frescoes.”
In 2021 Van Orden won Donald Trump’s endorsement after he been at the Capitol on January 6, and despite a report he had bragged about exposing another man’s genitals, a hospital patient, to two unsuspecting women.
Van Orden had previously run for Congress but lost in the primaries.
He “went to Washington on Jan. 6 ― a trip paid for with leftover campaign funds ― to rally with other pro-Trump supporters who were trying to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s victory,” HuffPost reported at the time. “Van Orden claimed that he never set foot on Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, but as The Daily Beast reported, a photo from that day shows otherwise.”