Republican Congressman Clay Higgins yanked and shoved an activist who he claimed was mentally disturbed during a press conference outside the US Capitol. Jake Burdett, an activist with leftist political views, was filming and asking questions of the GOP lawmakers present when a man in a suit approached him. The moment, which is captured in Mr Burdett's footage, shows the man in the suit — Mr Higgins — walking up, introducing himself, and telling the activist to back off and that he will answer his questions after the conference. “All I’m asking you to do is just peacefully stand by with your camera and I promise you—look at me—I’ll come talk to you straight up and answer all your questions. Fair enough?” Mr Higgins asks. Mr Burdett stood back, but zeroed in on the lawmakers again when Congresswoman Laura Boebert began to speak. The activist began to ask questions about her recently announced divorce but was intercepted by Mr Higgins. Footage capturing the moment shows Mr Higgins grabbing the activist and shoving him several feet away from the press conference. “Uh-uh. Uh-uh. No. You’re out. You’re out," Mr Higgins can be heard saying in the footage. Mr Burdett can be heard protesting Mr Higgins’s interference, asking: “Aren't you a congressperson, touching me?” He then demanded that he “get off” and said that the lawmaker was hurting him. Mr Higgins continued to grapple Mr Burdett until DC Metropolitan police intervened and split the men up. Mr Burdett was questioned by DC police and was later allowed to leave. He spoke about the experience with The Daily Beast, saying he felt “scared, intimidated, powerless, [and] defenceless”. Mr Burdett said he felt as though he could do nothing to defend himself since Mr Higgins is a member of Congress. “Like, who do I think the cops are going to crack down on, me, or the congressperson?” he said. He believes the incident was an example of a lawmaker thinking of themselves as “untouchable” because of their position. “It’s one thing for anybody to do that,” he said of Higgins’ behaviour. “But for a sitting US congressperson to think that that’s OK—it just shows an extra level of entitlement, that they feel they’re untouchable and the law doesn’t apply to them.” The footage was shared widely on social media, sparking a Change.org petition for the arrest of Mr Higgins. The Independent has reached out to Mr Higgins and Mr Burdett for comment. Mr Higgins responded to the incident in a video response posted to Twitter. Mr Higgins offered a comment to KATC, and said Mr Burdett "was a 103M," which is a police code referring to mentally disturbed individuals. The statement goes on to accuse Mr Burdett of being “threatening”. Mr Burdett told The Daily Beast he was in Washington to attend a Medicare for All rally featuring Senator Bernie Sanders. After that rally, he spotted the Republican press conference setting up in the same spot. He decided to stay and "ask them some tough questions." He said that after the incident he is weighing his options and strongly considering making assault charges against the congressman. “I’m absolutely evaluating my options here, and if it looks like there is a strong case for assault and [there is] an attorney willing to take on the case, I am absolutely prepared to press charges,” he said. Read More The school librarian in the middle of Louisiana’s war on libraries Lauren Boebert denies claim husband flew into rage after being served divorce papers Marjorie Taylor Greene launches racially-loaded attack on Black Democrat after Capitol steps shouting match Lauren Boebert denies claim husband flew into rage after being served divorce papers Disney cancels $1bn Florida theme park extension amid war with DeSantis FACT FOCUS: Who’s to blame for the national debt? It’s more complicated than one culprit

A supermarket in Austria was evacuated after a spider, whose bite is capable of causing painful erections and even death, was spotted. A PENNY shop in Krems an der Donau, a town located around 45 miles from Vienna, has remained closed since Tuesday, after the four-inch spider was said to have been seen when staffed opened a box of bananas. Descriptions of the spider’s colouring and size led people to believe they were dealing with a Brazilian wandering spider, also known as a “banana spider”. These highly venomous arachnids tend to hide in banana plants, and are sometimes found in shipments of the fruit, earning them the nickname. Their bites can cause extraordinary pain, hypothermia, increased pulse, penile erection that can last for hours, and death in some cases. By the time the fire brigade arrived at the store, the spider was nowhere to be seen, local media reported. In a statement, the Rewe retail group, which operates the PENNY stores, said “comprehensive cleaning and disinfection measures” were underway, before the outlet reopens next week. “All measures are for safety and are carried out meticulously so that the branch can be reopened,” the retailer added. In a 2007 interview, a researcher, Romulo Leite told Live Scienc that “the erection is a side effect that everybody who gets stung by this spider will experience along with the pain and discomfort”, adding: “We’re hoping eventually this will end up in the development of real drugs for the treatment of erectile dysfunction.” In 2019, scientists at the Federal University of Minas Gerais said the chemicals in its bite could lead to a treatment more effective than Viagra, after they included them in a gel which led to prolonged erections in a study of mice and rats. They found the gel led to a swelling of the penis “lasting about 60 minutes” when applied topically to the genitals. Read More Maui fires – live: Wildfires death toll climbs to 55 with 1,000 people still missing on Hawaii island How a TikTok craze led to five hours of chaos on London’s busiest shopping street Moscow drone attack: Emergency services guard park where drone crashed

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