Nov. 3—Republican Party of Texas chairman and 2022 gubernatorial hopeful Allen West was involved in a physical altercation at the Dallas Fort-Worth International Airport Wednesday. The incident allegedly stemmed from West's refusal to wear a mask on the premises, according to a press release from his campaign.
The statement alleges the GOP candidate was approached by a man who yelled at him for not wearing a mask. West allegedly responded by "flicking" the man's mask off. The man responded by raising his fists at West, per the statement. West took to Twitter afterward to provide his own account of the incident, saying the man called him an "idiot." West said he pulled down the man's mask and said "see, nothing happened."
"This morning at the airport a man starts yelling at me and tells me to put my mask on and calls me an idiot," West tweeted. "I walked over to him and asked if he called me an idiot, he continued to yell at me. I pulled down his mask and said see nothing happened."
West continued, saying "He put up his fists and I walked away. I did call him a stupid man. I have spoken to DFW PD. Theres' no mask law, nothing has ever passed in the US House and Senate making wearing a mask law."
Airport police have filed a report on the incident, according to the press release. DFW Airport Department of Public Safety Headquarters offered no comment and calls to their media requests division went unanswered as of this writing.
The Transportation Security Administration currently has a federal requirement stipulating travelers wear masks across all transportation networks in the U.S., including commercial flights, buses and trains through Jan. 18, 2022. The Centers for Disease Control has also recommended unvaccinated individuals wear masks indoor in public spaces to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
West, who is unvaccinated, was hospitalized for COVID-related pneumonia last month. He has pushed the use of unproven therapies for the virus, including hydroxycholoroquine and ivermectin — which are used to treat roundworm infections and other parasites. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has strongly cautioned against the use of both treatments after finding they have no benefit for decreasing the likelihood of death or speeding recovery from COVID-19, and can be misused to dangerous effect.
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