Rep. Al Green was escorted out of the chamber after holding up a sign as President Donald Trump entered and began his speech, prompting multiple Republican lawmakers to confront him and attempt to remove the sign.
As Trump entered the chamber and to start his speech, Green stood and held up a sign reading, “BLACK PEOPLE AREN’T APES!”
The action quickly drew the ire of Republican lawmakers.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) moved in and pulled the sign down, but Green was able to regain a hold of the pull-out sign and held it up again after returning to his seat.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) approached Green and attempted to take the sign from him, which triggered a heated verbal altercation. Then, Mullin and Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) positioned themselves between Green and Trump, partially blocking Trump’s line of sight as Green remained standing.
Green was ultimately escorted out of the chamber by a House sergeant-at-arms staffer. As he exited, he paused inside the chamber and held the sign toward Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas), who reached for the sign in an apparent attempt to remove it before Green was led out.
The sign was a direct response to a video President Donald Trump recently reposted on Truth Social that depicted the Obamas as apes, a racist trope so old it barely deserves explanation, yet apparently still circulating freely at the highest levels of American politics.
Online reactions came fast and unfiltered.
“Al Green doing the lord’s work,” said one Threads user.
Another reaction captured the moment’s absurdity and audacity perfectly:
“Rep. Al Green bringing a sign that literally states the bare minimum of human decency—Black people are not apes—only for Steve Scalise to snatch it down like a frustrated substitute teacher is a level of petty I didn’t have on my 2026 bingo card. It’s the audacity for me. Imagine being so triggered by a factual statement about basic humanity that you have to physically remove the visual aid. The decorum police are working overtime while the actual point flies right over their heads.”
This wasn’t Green’s first removal from the chamber. Last year, he was escorted out after shaking his cane at Trump during a joint address, an act he has since folded directly into his reelection messaging.
Green is currently locked in a hotly contested Democratic primary in Texas’ newly drawn 18th District, facing Rep. Christian Menefee, who won a special election to replace the late Rep. Sylvester Turner. The primary is set for March 3, and Green has made clear that moments like these are not accidents; they’re the point.
In a recent campaign ad, Green leaned into his reputation for disruption, saying:
“When I stood up, it wasn’t for attention. It was because some things are worth standing for.”
This year, he didn’t stand. He held up a sign. And once again, that alone was enough to get him removed, not for lying, not for threatening anyone, but for stating a truth so basic it shouldn’t need defending in 2026 America.
Green was censured for his protest last year, and Scalise has hinted at punishing the Black congressman from Texas again.
However, Scalise, Mullin, and Nehls are facing backlash for their aggression towards Green, with some accusing them of stifling his First Amendment right to freedom of speech and others accusing the GOP House members of assaulting the 78-year-old lawmaker.
“Looks like Senator Mullin attempted to assault a man during a peaceful protest,” one Threads user said. “Now if Rep Green would have knocked all his sonic rings out with that cane…yall would have been mad. Don’t EVER snatch something out of an elder’s hand. Who TF raised these people?!” another person added.
