Lauren Boebert's Top 5 Biggest Controversies Since Taking Office
U.S. representative Lauren Boebert from Colorado has been something of a controversial figure since she first took the national political stage when she was elected in 2020, taking office in January 2021. As a proud conservative Republican, Boebert has been a staunch supporter of gun rights and a vocal denouncer of abortion, which made her both popular among conservatives and a subject of ridicule among liberals.
She at first appeared to be a practice-what-you-preach conservative; a proponent of criminalizing abortion, she herself had had a child at 18. And as a proud supporter of the second amendment, she owned a gun-themed restaurant in Rifle, CO (via Insider).
A great deal has happened, however, since Boebert first took her seat in Washington, and controversy after controversy has surrounded both the representative herself and her family. From her husband's sketchy legal record to her eviction from a family-themed theater production, Boebert has repeatedly made headlines, and not always in the way she probably would have liked.
Boebert denies husband's legal record
In 2023, Lauren Boebert filed for divorce from her husband Jayson; the two had been together ever since Lauren was a teenager. In 2004, when Lauren was 17 and Jayson was 24, Jayson exposed himself to two underage girls while the couple was at a bowling alley (via Salon). He was arrested and pled guilty to "public indecency and lewd exposure," spent four days in jail, and was on probation for the following two years.
In 2022, Lauren, who that year was running on an eyebrow-raising campaign of family values, released a memoir in which she denied that her husband ever exposed himself to anyone in that bowling alley, in spite of his guilty plea being public record (via Insider). Though she had been with Jayson at the bowling alley, she had initially told law enforcement that she had not witnessed whatever transpired between Jayson and the girls. Yet, in her memoir, she insisted she knew the details and that Jayson had just unzipped his pants as a prank to make it look like he would expose himself, but didn't.
Her excuse for Jayson's behavior was that he needed anger management counseling and intervention for alcohol abuse, and that once he got those things, he was a better man. Unfortunately, this was not to be the last time Jayson had run-ins with the law that reflected poorly upon Lauren.
Boebert's husband was repeatedly accused of violent behavior
In 2022, Lauren Boebert's husband Jayson Boebert had 911 called on him twice for violent behavior. Over the summer, a neighbor called 911 alleging that, after neighbors had repeatedly asked one of the Boeberts' sons to stop speeding up and down the street in a dune buggy, Jayson Boebert intentionally ran over the neighbor's mailbox with his truck (via The Denver Post). The neighbor also alleged that Jayson Boebert had threatened him, getting in his face and "looking for a fight." No charges were filed and law enforcement stated that the two parties agreed to work it out as "neighbors."
Then, in December of the same year, the Boeberts' teenage son called 911 crying and gasping for breath, stating that his father was "throwing him around" (via Insider). Just a few minutes later, the boy called 911 again to retract his statement, saying his father "did not really get physical with me." Then Lauren Boebert took the phone and said that her son "doesn't need help." Law enforcement sent officers to speak with the family, at which point Lauren and Jayson insisted nothing physical had happened, despite the obvious state of distress their son had been in when calling 911.
Lauren herself called 911 on Jayson back in their dating days, accusing him of assaulting her, for which he was found guilty (via Salon). Critics later derided her for voting against the Violence Against Women Act in 2021.
If you or anyone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, this hotline can help. If you are in immediate danger, call 911.
Boebert uses racist language to denounce a fellow rep
In 2021, a video surfaced of Lauren Boebert discussing a moment at the Capitol when she was getting into an elevator and saw an officer of the Capitol Police heading for the elevator she was in, looking concerned (via Reuters). She said for a moment she was afraid of what might be going on and whether she was in danger, and then, as she put it, "I look to my left, and there she is. Ilhan Omar. And I said, 'Well, she doesn't have a backpack, we should be fine,'" said Boebert, making a reference to Muslim terrorists — Democratic U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar is a Muslim. And if there had been even an ounce of doubt about what Boebert was insinuating, she then said that being on the elevator with her colleague was "not my first 'jihad squad' moment."
As soon as the video surfaced, the overt racism enraged countless people, forcing Boebert to release a statement of apology. "I apologize to anyone in the Muslim community I offended with my comment about Rep. Omar," Boebert stated on the platform then known as Twitter, now called X. "I have reached out to her office to speak with her directly. There are plenty of policy differences to focus on without this unnecessary distraction."
Boebert announces her son got a girl pregnant
In March of 2023, Lauren Boebert announced that her seventeen-year-old Tyler and his girlfriend, whose age was not officially revealed but who was thought to be 15 years old at the time, were expecting a baby. Boebert, who supports the criminalization of abortion, stated that she and her then-husband Jayson were "so excited to welcome this new life" while speaking at the Conservative Political Action Committee's women's breakfast.
At this event, Boebert spoke about becoming a young grandmother, saying, "Now, any of you who have young children who are giving life, there are some questions that pop up. There's some fear that arises," she said. "Now my son, when I approached him and told him, 'Tyler, I'm going to be a 36-year-old grandmother,' he said, 'Well, didn't you make Granny a 36-year-old granny?' 'I said, 'Yes, I did.' He said, 'Well then, it's hereditary.'" This past spring, the family welcomed Boebert's first grandchild, a boy.
Boebert herself dropped out of high school during her senior year because she had gotten pregnant and wished to focus on birthing and raising her baby. She later married the father of that child, Jayson Boebert. She received her GED in 2020, just before her run for U.S. rep (via Snopes).
Boebert is booted from a theater
Lauren Boebert's most wacky scandal occurred in September 2023, when she and her date were asked to leave a family-friendly production of the play Beetlejuice in Denver, CO (via Associated Press). Initial reports simply said Boebert had been asked to leave because she had been vaping and had been distracting, but as more detail was revealed to the public, it looked worse and worse for Boebert.
Footage from a security video showed the conservative U.S. representative engaging in heavy petting with her date while surrounded by families and children. She could also be seen using a vape pen, according to the New York Times. The Associated Press reported that, when asked to leave, she reportedly became enraged and asked if the people escorting her out knew who she was, implying she was too big of a deal to have to follow rules.
It has since been revealed that Boebert's date owns a gay-friendly bar in Aspen, Colorado, which hosts drag shows (via The New York Post). Considering Boebert's vocal opposition to gay marriage and to drag shows, the irony and hypocrisy of the situation were not missed by her critics. Her supporters, however, continue to see her behavior as harmless, and her campaign manager, Drew Sexton said of the incident, "I can confirm the stunning and salacious rumors: in her personal time, congresswoman Lauren Boebert is indeed a supporter of the performing arts (gasp!)" (via Associated Press). He went on to say that Lauren "pleads guilty to singing along, laughing and enjoying herself."