Twitter users anonymously surfaced at least two videos this week of Lauren Boebert’s mother, Shawna Bentz, talking to the camera. She and her friend go on a racist rant about “brown people” at Walmart. Bentz screams that you cannot go to Walmart on a Sunday because there are too many “brown people” with multiple children and multiple “baby daddy’s.” Bentz also goes on to complain about how brown shoppers sometimes have multiple “buggies,” referring to people who shop with more than one shopping cart.
At the end of the first video, Bentz and her friend seemingly go off on a tangent about Catholics as well, but the video is cut off at that point. The racist rant about “brown people” mostly focuses on Mexican people, and Bentz complains about Mexican music, referring to it as “hat music.”
Boebert has not shied away from controversy, and the opinions of her mother do not necessarily reflect Boebert’s individual opinions. Still, for a freshman lawmaker, Boebert will need at least some positive press if she hopes to cultivate her conservative following. Boebert will, at a minimum, need to explain the video of her mother and perform damage control by way of disassociation with Bentz or provision of some rational explanation for the video.
No matter the rationale, however, Bentz’s words and opinions in the video are so racist and offensive that the video won’t ever be excused by voters. Boebert will need to excuse her mom from all political functions, at a minimum.
Social media has also collectively alleged that Bentz may be tied to the Capitol riots on January 6th. Though that seems unlikely, Boebert’s controversies are overwhelming at times.
A woman in a pink hat has made the rounds on the list of rioters at the Washington, D.C. Capitol storming on January 6th. Social media was quick to claim that the woman in the pink hat, who later led protestors through the Capitol with the pinpoint accuracy of the building via a megaphone, is Shawna Bentz, Lauren Boebert’s mom.
According to a former waitress at Shooter’s Grill, Lauren’s gun-themed restaurant in Colorado, the on the bullhorn belongs to but the rumors are unsubstantiated as of this writing.
As rioters breached the Capitol building, megaphone lady can be heard screaming,
“Hey guys, I’ve been in the other room. In the other room on the other side of this door right here where you are standing, there is a glass that somebody, if it’s broken, you can drop down into a room underneath it.”
“There’s also two doors in the other room. One in the rear, and one to the right as you go in. So people should probably coordinate together if you’re going to take this building. We’re in, we’ve got another window to break to make getting in and out easy.”
Shawna Bentz looks a lot like megaphone lady, but some are quick to point out that megaphone lady appears much younger than Bentz. In pictures taken January 6th, the day of the riot, megaphone lady is wearing green nail polish, but pictures of Bentz on that day aren’t clear enough to discern nail polish color.
Additionally, some social media sleuths are quick to point out that Bentz is heavier than the megaphone lady.
Boebert released a statement on January 14th explaining that her mother was not on Capitol grounds and was in another location at the time of the riots. However, Bentz had already tweeted that she was indeed in the Capitol building, leading to further suspicion.
Congressman Cohen of Tennessee gave a sworn that Boebert gave a large tour or tours on January 5th, the day before the riots. Many have suspected and labeled Boebert’s tour a “recognizance” mission, claiming that Bentz and others on Boebert’s tour were given the layout of the building before the insurrection attempt. Cohen has been careful not to label the tour as a recognizance mission and has not made any allegations that Boebert was involved in the breach.
The FBI has clearly been alerted by thousands of social media posts across the Internet this week about the possible identity of megaphone lady, and Bentz has not been arrested. If you have any tips about the megaphone lady or anything else pertaining to the January 6th riots, contact the FBI.
