Shreveport Representative Alan Seabaugh (R)
Shreveport Republican Representative Alan Seabaugh said he’s filed a police report against Bogalousa Democratic Representative Malinda White over an incident where he alleges White threatened him with gun violence on the House floor.
The incident occurred during a heated argument over White’s domestic violence and abuse-related bill that was opposed by Seabaugh. Seabaugh recounted the story accusing White of assaulting him after an argument about an amendment.
“She stood up and she grabbed my arm and another representative got up and got between us and started pulling her back and she said I’m going to go get my gun and finish this, or, let me go get my gun and we will finish this,” said Seabaugh. “She was way too emotional, emotionally involved in the bill.”
White apologized for the incident on the House floor Wednesday and said she, as a domestic abuse survivor, was triggered by Seabaugh telling her she did not understand her legislation. Seabaugh said the disagreement was just about a technical term that he wanted to be inserted into the bill that White had not included. Seabaugh said that he told White because she was not a lawyer she did not understand why the term needed to be added in.
The bill, which would have expanded the definition of domestic abuse to include intimidation and coercion, was opposed by the NRA and the conservative Christian advocacy group Louisiana Family Forum.
Seabaugh said White was “irrational about the issue” and claimed other unnamed individuals accused White of similar behavior earlier in the session.
“After my incident occurred I had two other people call me and tell me that she threatened to shoot them after they testified against her bill in the Senate committee. She followed one of them to the elevator and confronted one of them in the hallway,” said Seabaugh.
House Speaker Clay Schexnayder confirmed State Police is investigating the incident and White withdrew the legislation Thursday. The Advocate reported prominent House Democratic Representative Ted James of Baton Rouge has offered to represent White if she is charged.
Seabaugh said White is guilty of simple battery or assault and wants law enforcement and House leadership to take action against her. He said if he had done the same thing, he’d be tossed out of office and thrown in jail.
“The fact of the matter is that in this country we have different rules for Democrats versus Republicans, that’s just a fact. I think that’s more significant than the fact that she is a woman and I am a man,” said Seabaugh. “She actually threatened to shoot another House member on the House floor and she has not been reprimanded, she has not been censured.”
White has not offered further comments about the incident since her apology on the House floor Thursday.
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