Video shows Romney being called "traitor" by Trump fans while on flight
Senator Mitt Romney of Utah faced chants of "traitor" while on a flight from Salt Lake City to Washington, D.C. A video posted to Twitter appears to show a small group of passengers chanting, at least one of whom appears to not be properly wearing a mask.
"Resign, Mitch!" one woman, seen with a mask on her chin that failed to cover her mouth and nose, yelled. She accused Romney of not listening to his constituents.
Mitt Romney, in a flight full of patriots in their way to DC pic.twitter.com/t9uq3vkCo5
— Non timebo mala (@AncPerl) January 5, 2021
The woman also attempted to push a baseless conspiracy theory linking Romney to both the Ukrainian gas company Burisma and president-elect Joe Biden.
Romney has previously criticized an investigation conducted by the Senate Homeland Security Commission of Biden's son, Hunter, who was named chairman of Burisma while Biden served as vice president. Romney did vote in favor of issuing subpoenas in that probe, however.
An additional video posted to Twitter showed Romney being confronted prior to boarding his flight. In the video, Romney can be seen sitting at a terminal in the Salt Lake City airport. The woman who appears to be filming confronts Romney, claiming he does not support Donald Trump.
Utah Patriots catch Rino Romney at Salt Lake City international airport! He thinks he’s above his constituents!!! Openly bashing @realDonaldTrump!!!
— Qtah (@Utah_17) January 6, 2021
“These people won’t be able to walk down the street.”
VOLUME UP! ☝🏼 pic.twitter.com/Lntgozkajx
Romney urges the woman to put on a mask, which is required by the airport, though she contends she's standing six feet away. The woman then appears to get closer to Romney. She calls Romney "a joke" and a "disgusting shame" for not supporting Mr. Trump's re-election bid.
Romney failed to endorse Mr. Trump in 2020. The former 2012 GOP presidential nominee later admitted he didn't vote for Mr. Trump, either.
The video was posted by a user whose name, "Qtah," is an apparent reference to the conspiracy theory QAnon, which the Southern Poverty Law Center notes is an "anti-Semitic and anti-LGBTQ" theory "that falsely claim the world is run by a secret cabal of pedophiles who worship Satan and are plotting against President Trump."