President Barack Obama scolded a heckler shouting at him at an LGBT event Wednesday, saying he won’t tolerate that kind of behavior at the White House.
“Hey, listen, you’re in my house,” Obama said. “It’s not respectful, when you get invited to somebody (…) You’re not going to get a good response from me by interrupting me like this. Shame on you.”
Obama’s answer to the heckler got a good response from the crowd, which started to chant the President’s name.
The President then offered the heckler a choice: Stay quiet, or get removed from the White House. The person continued to speak, and was escorted out.
“As a general rule, I’m just fine with a few hecklers. But not when I’m up in the House,” Obama said before continuing his speech.
According to a statement by nonprofit organization #Not1More the heckler heard in the video is an undocumented transgender immigrant named Jennicet Gutiérrez. Gutiérrez was a founding member of FAMILIA TQLM, a group that advocates for LGBTQ immigrants which it claims are often left out of the immigration debate.
Obama is no stranger to hecklers and interruptions. One of the best known examples happened in June 2012, when Daily Caller journalist Neil Munro shouted a question at the President during his speech at a press briefing, interrupting him and getting a similarly stern response.
-mashable