Al Green escorted from House chamber as al green ejected during State of the Union

al green was escorted out of the House chamber early into the State of the Union address after silently holding a sign that read "Black people aren’t apes!" The Texas Democrat’s removal came almost immediately and marked the second year in a row he has been removed during the annual event.

Al Green's protest sign

As the president began his address and other attenders sat down, Green lingered in the center aisle brandishing a cardboard sign reading "Black people aren’t apes!" The sign referenced the president sharing a racist video depiction of Barack and Michelle Obama. Multiple Republican representatives tried to grab at the sign or block it from being viewed by cameras as Green continued to hold it while he was escorted from the room.

Second consecutive removal

Green’s ejection was the second year in a row he has been removed from the annual speech. Last year he was ordered out by the House speaker, Mike Johnson, for yelling responses as the president spoke. This year’s protest was silent but pointed; Green walked out clutching his walking stick and his protest sign while a staffer escorted him to the door.

Confrontations on the aisle

Representative Troy Nehls, also from Texas, could be seen aggressively engaging with Green as he passed by, just before a staffer escorted the Democratic lawmaker to the door. Senator Markwayne Mullin also approached Green menacingly. As Green left the chamber there were acrimonious exchanges with Republicans, some of whom began chanting "USA! USA!" After his removal Green’s seat remained empty except for a handwritten cardboard sign that said "Al Green".

Democrats stayed seated, others left

Dozens of Democrats boycotted the State of the Union address and several who remained in the chamber sat solemnly as Republican colleagues rose to clap at the end of nearly every sentence spoken by the president. Several Democrats walked out early. Senator Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia, posted on the social media network Bluesky that he "couldn’t sit through an hour of Trump’s lies" and left while the president was inflating his economic achievements. Representative Bill Foster from Illinois shared on X that he gave himself "5 bald-faced lies"—the same as last year—before he left, writing, "Less than one hour into his speech, I’m out. "

Shouts and reactions on floor

As the president made comments about his immigration enforcement agenda to a standing ovation from Republicans and rebuked Democrats for not joining him as he called for Congress to fund the Department of Homeland Security, Representative Rashida Tlaib, who was sporting a pin that read "release the files", could be heard yelling back about the killing of Alex Pretti, a Minneapolis nurse shot to death by federal agents. "They saw the videos, Mr President, " she yelled. Representative Ilhan Omar shouted, "You should be ashamed, " as the president told Democrats they should be ashamed, and repeatedly yelled, "you have killed Americans. "

Green, who has been among the president’s top critics and was the first member of Congress to call for his impeachment as early as 2017, represents a predominantly African American district and has long fought for civil rights. After his removal this year he told reporters outside the chamber that the ejection was "of no consequence, " still holding his sign up for cameras to see. He said nothing would prevent him from doing what he believed was righteous. "You have to take a stand, " he added. "I am just a person who has done it – but there are many others, I believe, who would. "

Several Democrats’ departures and the visible refusals to stand left a sharply divided scene in the chamber for the rest of the address.