Maine Gov. Paul LePage‘s local budget forum descended into chaos Thursday evening when a former Democratic lawmaker verbally confronted the governor and tossed a jar of Vaseline at him before being escorted away by police.
Former State Rep. Joanne Twomey stood up during the event and had a contentious exchange with LePage about his proposal to slash taxes, reports the Portland Herald-Press. When the pair’s conversation became outwardly hostile, the former legislator approached the stage, which immediately prompted security officials to apprehend her. During their tussling, she tossed a jar of Vaseline at LePage, and it landed near his feet.
So why Vaseline? The Herald-Press explained:
LePage sparked a media frenzy in June 2013 when he made a crude sexual remark involving Vaseline while criticizing a Democratic state senator.
[…] After the meeting, Twomey said she planned to hand the jar of Vaseline to the governor, but tossed it when security guards pulled her from the stage. In a high-profile incident while lawmakers were finalizing the state’s last two-year budget in 2013, LePage told a camera crew that a Democratic state senator “claims to be for the people, but he’s the first one to give it to the people without providing Vaseline.”
Twomey was thrown out of the event and LePage reportedly exited the stage immediately after the incident. The ex-lawmaker was not charged with a crime.
Watch the incident below, via YouTube:
[h/t TPM]
[Image via YouTube/screengrab]
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