Police called after GOP candidate Allen West admits to 'flicking' off someone's mask

John C. Moritz, Corpus Christi Caller Times
·2 min read

Allen West, a firebrand conservative challenging Gov. Greg Abbott in the 2022 Republican primary, admitted to “flicking” the mask off someone who accosted him for not wearing a face covering at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on Wednesday.

Airport police were called in and a report on the matter was being prepared, a spokeswoman for the airport's department of public safety said. The report was not immediately available for release, she added.

Allen West, right, speaks at the Ellis County Republican Women's Lincoln Day Celebration in February 2017 as ECRW first vice president Patsy Grider Erickson looks on. West will return to the county on Thursday evening for a rally at the Waxahachie Civic Center.
Allen West, right, speaks at the Ellis County Republican Women's Lincoln Day Celebration in February 2017 as ECRW first vice president Patsy Grider Erickson looks on. West will return to the county on Thursday evening for a rally at the Waxahachie Civic Center.

West, who was hospitalized last month for COVID-19 symptoms and has not been vaccinated for the highly contagious and sometimes deadly virus, issued a statement on the altercation through his campaign, which said it had been started by "a left-wing partisan who cursed and insulted him."

"After being berated, West responded by flicking the individual's mask off," the statement said. "The individual raised his fists at Col. West, who ensured the person had their mask prior to departing the airport."

The statement also said West, a retired Army officer and a former congressman from Florida who had been chairman of the Texas Republican Party before entering the race for governor, "gladly" spoke with officers who responded to the incident.

The other individual's name was not immediately available.

After issuing the statement and calling the incident an example of "bullying by progressive political punks," West's campaign said he plans hold a news conference on Thursday in the Dallas suburb of Richardson to discuss "medical freedom issues facing Texas and the rest of the country."

The matter caught fire on social media with some chiding West and his campaign for calling the individual a "bully" even though West was the only one who initiated physical contact.

"West assaulted someone by removing *their* mask. And this constitutes 'leftist bullying?'" tweeted Allison Campolo, the chairwoman of the Tarrant County Democratic Party and an infectious disease scientist. "Woe-is-me snowflakeism."

West and former state Sen. Don Huffines of Dallas are among Republicans challenging Abbott's bid for a third term in next year's primary.

John C. Moritz covers Texas government and politics for the USA Today Network in Austin. Contact him at jmoritz@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @JohnnieMo.

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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Police called after Allen West admits to 'flicking' off someone's mask