Heckler to Elizabeth Warren at Georgia Rally: ‘Why Did You Lie?’

The Associated Press
The Associated Press

A heckler at Democrat 2020 presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-MA) Saturday rally in Georgia repeatedly yelled, “Why did you lie?” while holding up a “1/2020th” sign.

The man, who was mocking Warren’s exaggerated claims of Native American ancestry, heckled the Massachusetts Democrat as she told her backstory to a crowd of more than 1,000 supporters gathered at Central Gwinnett High School in Lawrenceville, the Daily Mail reported.

“Be easy, be easy,” Warren replied, while her supporters booed the heckler being led out of the campaign event.

“It’s ok, we’re good,” the 69-year-old Democrat told her supporters, who repeatedly chanted her name.

Warren released results of a 2018 DNA test which revealed that she had between 1/64th and 1/1,1024th Native American ancestry after President Donald Trump and other Republicans criticized her for falsely claiming Native American ancestry.

Trump has frequently called Warren “Pocahontas,” most recently using the term to refer to Warren after she launched her bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination this month.

The Massachusetts Democrat issued an apology in January to the Cherokee Nation for taking the DNA test shortly after the results of the DNA test went public.

Tribal leaders were angry with Warren for using a DNA test to back up her claims of Native American heritage because they felt being part of the tribe stemmed from traditions and laws dating back centuries instead of modern DNA tests.

“A DNA test is useless to determine tribal citizenship,” Cherokee Nation Secretary of State Chuck Hoskin Jr. said in a statement. “Current DNA tests do not even distinguish whether a person’s ancestors were indigenous to North or South America.”

“It makes a mockery out of DNA tests and its legitimate uses while also dishonoring legitimate tribal governments and their citizens, whose ancestors are well documented and whose heritage is proven,” he continued. “Senator Warren is undermining tribal interests with her continued claims of tribal heritage.”

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