CHARLESTON, WV — In an exclusive radio interview on The Caiden Cowger Program, Del. Sharon Lewis Malcolm (R-39) recollected the events that unfolded between Del. Mike Caputo (D-50) and the doorman, along with expressing that Caputo shoved her in an encounter that directly followed the incident.
“He said, ‘Get the F (f**k) out of my way,'” Malcolm recollected, quoting Caputo. “He pushed me out of his way, and went on to the Floor.”
“It’s not only unprofessional. It’s unmanly. He picked on a young boy. I think the kid might be around 20 and had his back to him, so he hits him in the back. And then he accosts a senior citizen female, and then he goes around telling people a different story. He’s made up two or three.”
Additionally, Malcolm repudiated Caputo’s claim that he went “nose to nose” with the doorman and was barred from entering the House of Delegates.
“God as my witness, he didn’t talk to that young man at all,” Malcolm continued, “He came up to the door and rammed it into his back, and cussed him as he was coming through the door.”
“He never spoke to the young man. He just rammed his way through the door, ranting and raving and cussing.”
“The young man didn’t say ‘Boo’ to him. He didn’t have time. He just got hit in the back. It’s appalling. No man would do that. He’s a bully. And that’s what he’s doing: bullying people. He’s gotten by with it for years around here. That’s the way it goes.”
Malcolm also expressed that Caputo did not have to “push” the door and could have avoided hitting the young doorman.
“He knows as well as I do. Those doors open two ways. He could have pulled it open. He didn’t have to do what he did.”
She also stated that the Democratic leadership in the House of Delegates has placed their full support behind Del. Mike Caputo.
“Del. Caputo got on the floor and he said that he was proud of his caucus, because they (without question) supported him 110 percent,” she continued. “Those were his words on the Floor.”
Malcolm also provided an update to the perceived condition of the doorman.
“We heard that he has cracked ribs, and he hasn’t been back. Emotionally, I think he is very upset. He’s very, very young. A very quiet young man. I don’t even think he’s 20 [years-old], but I could be wrong about that. He looks very young. And emotionally, he’s just not ready to come back. He shouldn’t be embarrassed, but he is embarrassed.”
Del. Malcolm represents the 39th district of Kanawha County.