Al Green Escorted From State of the Union After Holding 'Black people aren't apes!' Sign
Democrat al green disrupted a State of the Union address by holding a handwritten sign that read "Black people aren't apes!" — a protest tied to a racist depiction of Barack and Michelle Obama that the president had recently shared on social media. The congressman's action led to his ejection from the chamber and prompted Democrats to refuse to stand for the president during the speech.
Al Green held handwritten sign in the House chamber
Rep. Al Green rose during the president's State of the Union and displayed a handwritten placard bearing the words "Black people aren't apes!" The sign directly referenced a racist depiction of Barack and Michelle Obama that the president had recently posted on social media, a connection Green invoked in explaining his demonstration.
State of the Union protest tied to president's social post
Green framed the action as a response to the president's recent sharing of an image targeting Barack and Michelle Obama. He said the sign was meant to confront what he described as a broader pattern and to draw attention inside the chamber to the depiction the president had circulated online. What makes this notable is that the protest linked a high-profile public image shared on social media to an on-floor demonstration during a constitutionally significant address.
Ejection from the speech and exchange with journalists
After displaying the sign, Green was escorted out of the House chamber. Following his removal, he spoke with journalists and said he wanted to take a stand against the president doing "these dastardly things with impunity. " The ejection stands as the official action taken in response to his interruption of the address.
Democrats refuse to stand for Trump
Members of the Democratic delegation responded to the protest and the underlying complaint about the president's social post by refusing to stand for the president during the address. The refusal to stand occurred in the context of Green's removal and served as a separate act of dissent by Democrats in the chamber.
Implications inside the chamber
The sequence was straightforward: the president's sharing of a racist depiction prompted Green to display the handwritten sign referencing Barack and Michelle Obama; that protest led to his ejection; and Democrats subsequently refused to stand for the president. The visible exchange between a member of Congress and chamber decorum underscored the immediate political fallout from contentious social-media activity by the president, and it produced an on-the-floor rebuke and an official removal.
Details that remain unclear in the provided context include the precise timing within the address when the protest occurred and whether any further formal disciplinary action was taken beyond the ejection.
