Footage from 2019 has resurfaced showing Rep. Aftyn Behn (D-TN) sobbing uncontrollably after attempting to storm the office of Gov. Bill Lee (R-TN).
The video, shared by Daily Caller reporter Nicole Silverio, captures Behn’s dramatic confrontation at the governor’s office shortly after Lee took office on April 17, 2019.
Behn, who was 29 years old at the time and working as an activist, co-founded the progressive organization Enough is Enough Tennessee. She joined a small group of protesters staging a sit-in at the governor’s office in the Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville.
The activists demanded that Lee refuse to seat then-State Rep. David Byrd (R) over sexual misconduct allegations. The group had been camping outside Lee’s office for several days, urging him to intervene by withholding Byrd’s certification or calling for his resignation.
On April 17, state troopers moved to clear the protesters, physically removing Behn last.
As she was dragged out, she collapsed in tears, screaming phrases including “Don’t touch me!” while bursting into tears.
The footage shows Behn kneeling on the floor, continuing to sob uncontrollably as a colleague attempted to console her.
The group was cited for criminal trespassing but released later that evening.
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Behn, now 36, is running as the Democratic Party nominee in the special election for Tennessee’s Seventh U.S. Congressional District.
She is seeking to replace former Rep. Mark Green (R), who retired to take a job in the private sector after the passage of the Trump-backed Big Beautiful Bill this past summer.
President Trump carried the district by 22 points last November. However, its boundaries include parts of Nashville, Tennessee’s capital and the state’s most populous city, which serves as a Democratic Party stronghold.
Both major parties and related political action committees have poured millions of dollars into the Dec. 2 race.
Democrats seek to seize on momentum gained in this month’s elections in New Jersey and Virginia, while Republicans attempt to defend their slim House majority.
Behn has faced criticism in recent weeks due to a resurfaced podcast appearance from 2020.
In the recording, she claims she “hates” Nashville and its reputation for tourism.
“I hate the city, I hate the bachelorettes, I hate the pedal taverns, I hate country music, I hate all of the things that make Nashville apparently an ‘it’ city to the rest of the country. But I hate it,” she said in the podcast.
Candidate Matt Van Epps (R) and the national party apparatus have seized on Behn’s comments as Election Day approaches.
The Republican National Committee wrote in a social media post last week: “The Democrat running in a special election for Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, Aftyn Behn, is running on the message: ‘I hate this place, elect me!’ Tennessee deserves better.”
