Speaker Mike Johnson told CNN tonight that the shouting match that erupted on the House floor following Charlie Kirk’s shooting “was a reflection of the emotion of the moment.”
“The emotion was very high in the room,” Johnson told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on “The Source.”
He went on to explain how the chaos earlier in the day unfolded: “We had a moment of silence, and after that a member stood to be recognized and said, ‘Let’s have open prayer.’ And that started a debate and people felt like it was being politicized. On the Democrat side of the aisle, I guess, there were some shouts and groans, and then the Republicans responded, and it turned into a little bit of chaos there.”
During the tense exchange, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who was close to Kirk personally, began hurling expletives at Democrats, a person who witnessed the exchange previously told CNN.
“You f**king caused this,” Luna shouted across the House chamber, according to another person who overheard her remarks. Democrats then shouted back about a school shooting in Colorado earlier that day and a call for action on gun violence.
“A lot of people will reflect upon things they said and did in that moment, and they probably regret it,” Johnson said.
The speaker also warned that the words of lawmakers could have consequences, such as political violence.
“You’ve had people who have resorted to political violence because they were encouraged along by the dialogue out in the public square, and some of that is put forward by, by elected officials and people with large platforms, large social media platforms,” Johnson said, adding: “This is not who we are. We’re better than this.”