Florida congressman and Senate candidate Alan Grayson threatened to have a Politico reporter arrested on Tuesday after the reporter asked him questions about allegations of domestic abuse that his ex-wife has made against him, a new video shows.
The altercation, which took place at a Politico event in Philadelphia, came just hours after Politico revealed that Grayson's ex-wife had repeatedly filed accusations of domestic abuse over two decades. (Grayson has denied those allegations).
In the video of the incident, Grayson can be seen arguing with Edward-Isaac Dovere, the senior White House reporter for the news outlet, at a Politico event held in conjunction with the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
"You're getting in my way, my friend," Grayson can be heard saying. "You're assaulting a member of Congress."
"I'm not assaulting you," Dovere responds.
The exchange goes on as Grayson makes his way towards an elevator as Dovere continues to ask questions. The congressman then tells Dovere that he's going to hand the video over to the Capitol Police.
"You're going to accuse a reporter of assaulting you for asking a question?" Dovere asks.
"No, not for asking me questions, but for getting in my face and being a fool and pushing me as I trying to leave this event," Grayson responds.
The congressman then stepped into the elevator and ended the exchange with Dovere by saying, "You know, I'm hoping someone comes here and arrests you."
"As the congressman himself said, he attended a public event. He's a public official appearing at a public event. I attempted to ask him questions about the serious allegations of domestic abuse by his ex-wife," Dovere told CNN.
The congressman has had heated exchanges with reporters in the past. Last year, he asked a Tampa Bay Times reporter if the reporter goes around "sh***ing on people" and called him a "sh***ing robot."
Brad Dayspring, a spokesman for Politico, said in a statement to CNN, "The video speaks for itself."
Grayson, who is running against Democratic candidate Patrick Murphy in the Florida Senate primary, has lost endorsements due to the allegations of abuse.
On Tuesday night, Grayson spokesperson David Damron released a statement claiming that the congressman had previously told Dovere he needed to contact his staff for comment.
"The congressman had told the reporter earlier that he needed to contact his staff for comment, and then the reporter went and came back to confront him with a camera in tow," Damron's statement read. "The reporter then blocked the congressman from leaving as he tried to leave the event. The congressman specifically told the reporter 'you're blocking me,' but the reporter continued to harass the congressman."
On Twitter, Dovere immediately shot back: "Grayson is lying: he never told me to contact staff. I have the tape."
