A confused rant on God, Freemasons and the Constitution during a critical vote to raise the US debt ceiling has seen a stenographer removed from the House of Representatives on Wednesday night.
The woman, identified as Dianna Reidy, an official reporter with
the Office of the Clerk, stunned House members when she took the
Speaker’s Chair while the vote was in progress and said,
“Praise be to God Jesus Christ.”
"He will not be mocked. He will not be mocked. Don't touch me.
He will not be mocked," the stenographer continued as she was
led away by security officers. "The greatest deception here is
not 'one nation under God.' It never was. Had it been, it would
not have been."
She continued, "The Constitution would not have been written
by Freemasons. They go against God. You cannot serve two
masters.”
According to Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the presiding
officer at the voting, Reidy "came up to the podium area
beneath where I was standing and asked me if the microphones were
on. I said that I didn't know. I assumed that perhaps I was
chatting too much to the helpful parliamentarians around me. Then
she suddenly faced the front and said words like 'Thus spoke the
Lord.' And, 'This is not the Lord's work,’” Ros-Lehtinen
said, as quoted by Fox News.
Ros-Lehtinen banged the gavel and called ‘order’ several times,
but that did not stop Reidy from continuing with her monologue.
"I hammered to get control and hush her up,” the presiding
officer explained. “She said something about the devil. It was
sudden, confusing and heartbreaking. She is normally a gentle
soul."
Reidy was questioned by US Capitol Police after her removal from
the House floor and was later taken to a local hospital for a
mental health evaluation. It was not immediately clear whether
criminal charges would be filed.
US Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, said the woman had a crazed look
on her face, AP reported.
The disruption marked the latest incident to roil Washington as
nerves seemed frayed over the partial government shutdown and
Thursday's looming debt ceiling deadline.
On October 3, day three of the first US government shutdown in 17
years, Washington police shot and killed Miriam Carey, 34, who
attempted to breach a barrier at the White House with her car,
sparking a high-speed chase that ended fatally at the US Capitol
building.
Later, American truckers threatened to encircle Washington for a
three-day protest against the government dubbed ‘Ride for the
Constitution’. Although the event attracted media attention, the
protest turned out to be more smoke than fire as few truckers
made it to the US capital.
On Wednesday night, by a vote of 285 to 144, the US House of
Representatives passed legislation to raise the debt ceiling
until February next year. President Barack Obama pledged to sign
the bill and reopen government agencies affected by the shutdown
"immediately."