Etheridge 'Assault' on Cameraman

Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-N.C.) had a physical confrontation with a young man who tried to interview him about whether he supported the “Obama agenda,” in a video posted on Breitbart.tv, a site run by conservative provocateur Andrew Breitbart.

Approached on a Capitol Hill street by a college-age man asking him questions, the congressman demanded to know who the man and his cameraman were, tried to swat away their camera, and grabbed one of the men by the back of his neck.

“Who are you? Who are you?” he asked the men, who told him they were students working on a project.

The Breitbart.tv video, posted here, blurs out the “interviewer” in question. Etheridge apologized Monday after the video made its rounds on the Drudge Report, several blogs and other media outlets (see update below).

After trying to swat away the camera, Etheridge grabbed one man’s hand, and didn’t let go even after the man asked him to. Then Etheridge seized him by the back of the neck before finally releasing him.

“I have a right to know who you are,” Etheridge told them.

Read more: (Simmi Aujla, “Breitbart Strikes Again: Catches Lawmaker ‘Assault’ on Cameraman,” Politico, 06/14/2010)