Skip to main content
Texas 2022 Elections

Beto O’Rourke swears at Greg Abbott supporter who heckled him over Uvalde shooting

O’Rourke confronted a heckler at a campaign event Wednesday who laughed while he was talking about the Uvalde school shooting, telling the person, “It may be funny to you, motherfucker, but it is not funny to me.”

by Patrick Svitek

Beto O’Rourke swears at Greg Abbott supporter who heckled him at a town hall event in Mineral Wells. Credit: Beto O'Rourke campaign

Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.

Beto O’Rourke confronted a heckler Wednesday at a campaign event who laughed while he was talking about the Uvalde school shooting, telling the person, “It may be funny to you, motherfucker, but it is not funny to me.”

The moment, which spread quickly online afterward, came as the Democratic gubernatorial challenger was hosting an evening town hall in Mineral Wells. On live broadcasts of the event, loud laughing could be heard as O’Rourke described the impact of AR-15s, dropping to a knee to emphasize what he said were the wartime capabilities of the firearm.

O’Rourke’s admonishment of the person drew sustained applause and cheers from the crowd. He quickly moved on in his stump speech, talking about wanting to keep kids safe as the school year begins.

What you can expect from our elections coverage

  • How we explain voting

    We explain the voting process with election-specific voter guides to help Texans learn what is on the ballot and how to vote. We interview voters, election administrators and election law experts so that we can explain the process, barriers to participation and what happens after the vote is over and the counting begins. Read more here.

  • How readers inform our work

    Instead of letting only politicians set the agenda, we talk to voters and scrutinize polling data to understand ordinary Texans’ top concerns. Our readers’ questions and needs help inform our priorities. We want to hear from readers: What do you better want to understand about the election process in Texas? If local, state or congressional elected officials were to successfully address one issue right now, what would you want it to be? What’s at stake for you this election cycle? If we’re missing something, this is your chance to tell us.

  • How we hold officials accountable

    We do not merely recount what politicians say, but focus on what they do (or fail to do) for the Texans they represent. We aim to provide historical, legal and other kinds of context so readers can understand and engage with an issue. Reporting on efforts that make voting and engaging in our democracy harder is a pillar of our accountability work. Read more here.

  • How we choose what races to cover

    We aren’t able to closely cover all 150 races in the Texas House, 31 in the Texas Senate or 38 for the Texas delegation in the next U.S. House. We need to choose what races we cover closely by using our best judgment of what’s most noteworthy. We take into account factors like power, equity, interest and competitiveness in order to determine what warrants more resources and attention. Read more here.

  • How we cover misinformation

    In reporting on falsehoods and exaggerations, we clearly explain why it is untrue and how it may harm Texans. Sometimes, we choose to not write about misinformation because that can help amplify it. We’re more likely to debunk falsehoods when they are spread by elected officials or used as a justification for policy decisions. Read more here.

  • Read more

It is unclear who exactly was laughing, but tweets from the event showed there was a group of protesters present holding campaign signs for Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. On one live broadcast, the camera panned to the group after O’Rourke’s response and showed one of them laughing.

“Nothing more serious to me than getting justice for the families in Uvalde and stopping this from ever happening again,” O’Rourke tweeted afterward.

It was not the first time O’Rourke has addressed heckling at an event while discussing gun violence. He responded less explicitly last month in Snyder, telling the person, “Might be funny to you. It isn’t to me.”

O’Rourke is on a 49-day tour of the state, and Abbott’s campaign has been organizing protests at O’Rourke stops. That has led to some tense moments — as well as some cordial moments between O’Rourke and Republicans who have shown up. He has made multiple social media posts throughout the tour showing off interactions with people who have attended the events wearing Republican gear.

Last month, Abbott’s campaign cautioned protesters against giving O’Rourke the opportunity for such photo ops. Abbott’s director of grassroots engagement, Rhonda Anderson, sent an email to GOP activists telling them “not [to] go inside or talk to Beto if wearing or carrying any Abbott gear.”

“What’s been happening is he is snapping pictures with our supporters and then posting saying he’s converting them to support him,” Anderson wrote.

Not every event has been conciliatory, though. Video posted on social media showed O’Rourke leaving an event Sunday in Rockdale surrounded by police officers as he made his way through a rowdy crowd of protesters, some waving Abbott signs.

The local newspaper, the Rockdale Reporter, later wrote O’Rourke was “the first Texas gubernatorial candidate to visit Rockdale since the late 1960s.”

In another clip that has gotten wide attention online, a protester who was being removed from an O’Rourke event in Midland last month swatted a phone out of the hand of O’Rourke aide Cynthia Cano. She had been responding to another protester being disruptive with multiple attendees, according to an O’Rourke spokesperson, Chris Evans. Midland police who were on site handcuffed that protester, but no one decided to press charges, Evans said.

The full program is now LIVE for the 2022 The Texas Tribune Festival, happening Sept. 22-24 in Austin. Explore the schedule of 100+ mind-expanding conversations coming to TribFest, including the inside track on the 2022 elections and the 2023 legislative session, the state of public and higher ed at this stage in the pandemic, why Texas suburbs are booming, why broadband access matters, the legacy of slavery, what really happened in Uvalde and so much more. See the program.

Quality journalism doesn't come free

Perhaps it goes without saying — but producing quality journalism isn't cheap. At a time when newsroom resources and revenue across the country are declining, The Texas Tribune remains committed to sustaining our mission: creating a more engaged and informed Texas with every story we cover, every event we convene and every newsletter we send. As a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on members to help keep our stories free and our events open to the public. Do you value our journalism? Show us with your support.

Yes, I'll donate today

Information about the authors

Patrick Svitek’s staff photo