Beto O'Rourke Escorted Out Of Uvalde Press Conference After Confronting Gov. Greg Abbott

UVALDE, Texas In a stunning moment on Wednesday, former Rep. Beto ORourke (D-Texas) confronted Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) over gun control policy at a press conference where officials were giving updates on the mass shooting at an Uvalde elementary school.

Youre doing nothing. Youre all doing nothing, ORourke told the officials assembled on the stage.

One of them repeatedly shouted back, Sir, you are out of line!

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) told ORourke he was an embarrassment.

An 18-year-old ran into Robb Elementary School in the small west Texas town on Tuesday, killing 19 children and two teachers with an AR-15 rifle. Seventeen more were injured, Abbott said earlier at the press conference. The man, who was killed by responding officers, had shot his grandmother in the face before driving over to the school. He posted his intentions to Facebook shortly before the rampage, Abbott said.

As Abbott finished his remarks and introduced Patrick, ORourke approached the stage to interrupt. His initial remarks were drowned out by crosstalk from different attendees some cheering him and many others jeering.

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Beto interrupts pic.twitter.com/sh8wbJgQZh

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Beto interrupts pic.twitter.com/sh8wbJgQZh
Daniel Marans (@danielmarans) May 25, 2022

ORourke made a clear comment directed at Abbott while law enforcement moved to escort him out.

This is on you, ORourke said. Until you choose to do something different, this will continue to happen. Somebody needs to stand up for the children of this state or they will continue to be killed just like they were killed in Uvalde yesterday.

Cody Ytuarte, a carpenter visiting family affected by the shooting, was standing near ORourke. He interjected: This is propaganda, bro. Get out of here. Youre trash, man.

As ORourke exited, some of his supporters chanted, Let him speak! One person asked, How about the First Amendment?

The Republican elected officials at the dais criticized ORourke with varying degrees of subtlety once he was out of the room.

There will be plenty of time to discuss and analyze what happened yesterday, Patrick said.

Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan (R) concurred. Mayor, Im sorry you had to witness that outburst, Phelan said to Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin. Now is not the time to politicize pain and suffering.

In his initial remarks, Abbott had acknowledged that people are rightfully angry about whats happened, but he did not offer gun policy solutions. Now more than ever, Abbott said, what the Uvalde community needs is our love.

What they need is uplifting from all of our fellow Texans and all of our fellow Americans, the governor said. And let me emphasize something that I know you all know, but the reality is as horrible as what happened, it couldve been worse. The reason it was not worse is because law enforcement officials did what they do.

Abbott called for better mental health care in the west Texas region. But when asked by a reporter whether he would reconsider accepting federal funds to expand Medicaid to that end, he said no.

Patrick similarly suggested there was little policy action that could be taken, saying, Evil will always walk among us.

In times like this, Ive seen it ... in these other shootings, Sutherland Springs, El Paso, Odessa, Santa Fe, its God that brings a community together, he added, referencing previous mass shootings in the state. Its God that heals a community.

Following the outburst, Abbott criticized the relatively strict gun control policies of states with the nations largest cities, including California, Illinois and New York.

There are, quote, real gun laws in Chicago, Abbott said, then claimed that such measures do not work. Hate to say this, but there are more people who were shot every weekend in Chicago than there are in schools in Texas.

Chicago has strict gun control laws, but nearby states like Indiana do not, which allows people to easily access weapons.

Outside the venue, ORourke continued his call for stronger gun control measures and better access to mental health care.

Now is the time to stop the next shooting, he said. Right after Santa Fe High School was the time to stop the next shooting. Right after El Paso was the time to stop the next shooting. Right after Midland-Odessa was the time to stop the next shooting.

In each case, we say, This isnt the time, he said. Now is the time.

After the press conference, HuffPost caught up with Ytuarte, the man who accused ORourke of disseminating propaganda.

In the moment in which a tragedy is being addressed so recently, to come in and act in that way, is pure propaganda, Ytuarte said when asked to explain his remarks.

He said he was nonetheless happy to discuss stricter school safety precautions, because it is a much more logical approach than trying to control the gun ownership of every citizen.

There were signs that even some local residents who agreed with ORourke preferred a less confrontational approach than the one ORourke employed.

Theyre not strict with the background checks, said Cris Vazquez, a Republican schoolteacher who supports tightening those checks.

But Vazquez disapproved of how ORourke delivered his message.

Its just disrespectful to do an outburst like that as a professional running for public office, she said.