Etheridge Apologizes for Physical Confrontation With Man in Washington

Three days after an Internet video surfaced showing North Carolina Rep. Bob Etheridge in a physical confrontation with a young man, the lawmaker said he is “profoundly” sorry for the tussle on a Washington street.

Etheridge, a Democrat, is seen in an amateur video grabbing the wrist and neck of an unidentified young man after the man approached the congressman and asked if he supported the “Obama agenda.”

“I apologize for my actions,” Etheridge told reporters during a press conference Monday. “They were unacceptable.”

“No matter how partisan and no matter how difficult things get sometimes, that’s no excuse for my response,” he added, shortly after releasing a written statement in which he said he “profoundly” regrets the incident.

The video, posted to YouTube last Friday, shows the man, who appears to be in his early 20s and who identifies himself as a student, approaching Etheridge on the sidewalk.

Etheridge is then seen trying to snatch a cell phone camera out of the student’s hands. He then grabs the man’s wrist and refuses to let go.

“Who are you!” the seven-term congressman demands. “Tell me who you are … I have a right to know who you are.”

Another man, not seen on camera, then tells Etheridge, “We’re just here for a project.”

When the man asks Etheridge to “please let go of me,” the congressman then grabs him by the neck.

Read more: (“N.C. Congressman Apologizes for Physical Confrontation With Man in Washington,” Fox News Channel, 06/14/2010)