(JTA) — A New Hampshire lawmaker was permitted back in the state’s House chamber after apologizing three times for saluting and shouting "Sieg Heil."
The outburst by Rep. Steve Vaillancourt, a Manchester Republican who once lived in Berlin, Germany, came Tuesday after the House of Representatives speaker, William O’Brien, shut down debate on voter identification legislation, the Nashua Telegraph reported.
Vaillancourt had left the House, then returned. When he refused to leave, security was asked to remove him.
Fellow Republican lawmaker Gary Daniels said Vaillancourt’s remark showed “a disregard for decorum; a disrespect for the speaker,” and reflected poorly on the legislative body.
“I don’t think this kind of disrespect should be allowed in the chamber,” Daniels said. “There’s no place for it.”
In his initial apology, Vaillancourt insisted he did not say anything about Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, as some had suggested. His apology was not accepted, The Associated Press reported.
It took two more tries for his apology to be accepted.
