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Missouri Democrat Emanuel Cleaver won’t press charges after being spat upon, although Capitol Police made no arrests.
[He] was making his way through a group of angry protestors when the incident occurred. It was one of several ugly incidents in a day of protests against President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul measure, which faces a House vote on Sunday.
Cleaver, who is black, was also one of several lawmakers who faced racial epithets as they walked to the Capitol to vote.
Cleaver, along with Georgia Congressman John Lewis, had to endure the “n” word in addition to someone’s bodily fluids.
“It was a chorus,” Cleaver said. “In a way, I feel sorry for those people who are doing this nasty stuff — they’re being whipped up. I decided I wouldn’t be angry with any of them.”
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This is not the first time the congressman has been called the n-word and certainly not the worst assault he has endured in his years fighting for equal rights for all Americans,” the statement said. “That being said, he is disappointed that in the 21st century our national discourse has devolved to the point of name calling and spitting.”
Protesters also used multiple anti-gay slurs as they confronted Rep. Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat who is a homosexual.
