CHARLESTON, WV — On Friday, Del. Mike Caputo (D-50, Marion) kicked the House of Delegates door open in a violent rage, injuring the doorkeeper and sending him to the hospital.
During the prayer and pledge of allegiance, doorway activity is supposed to be temporarily halted to prevent the brief observances from being disturbed. The doorman politely told Del. Caputo to wait a moment for the observances to conclude. Del. Caputo then allegedly kicked the door open, injuring the doorman, and stormed into the House of Delegates.
Witnesses expressed that he was seen sitting against the wall and crying in the hallway directly after the incident. When asked if he was “okay” by a good Samaritan, he responded, “I’m only allowed to tell people that ‘I’m okay.'”
Shortly thereafter, the doorman was taken to a nearby hospital for a potential bone fracture.
“I tried to get in here between the prayer and the pledge and I’m a member of this house, and no one is going to keep me from opening that door,” Capito stated addressing the House. “But yeah, I kicked that door open; I’ll own it.”
In his justification, Caputo blamed his anger on an “offensive meme” displayed in the Capitol building in an apparent attempt to deflect and avoid accountability for his behavior.
Many House members are calling for Caputo’s resignation or mandatory expulsion from the legislature.
UPDATE 3/4/19 (5:30 PM): Mountaineer Journal has been informed that the young doorman had experienced a prior medical condition, but is not ‘special needs.’ Additionally, Caputo allegedly ‘cussed out’ the doorman and another delegate as the incident occurred.