The video was processed, full of swear words and was taken by one of the individuals who shouted at Correa, who posted it Friday. It shows Correa being surrounded and confronted by people at Washington, DC Airport in Virginia.
Correa said he was looking forward to a long flight and to going to bed after the House stayed late to validate the outcome of the election college after the riot the previous day at the Capitol. He said he turned the corner to go to his gate, and a number of supporters of President Donald Trump were there from the previous day. He said about 20 individuals confronted him as soon as they realized he was a member of Congress.
“They picked me out, and my son, they came to me,” Correa told CNN.
“It’s going to be violent,” Correa said. “It was not a fear. It was just a matter of waiting until the first blow. ‘
At one point, the video shows a strained distance between Correa and a man approaching him and getting in his face.
“Nobody here voted for you,” someone on Correa shouted. “We do not want you.”
Correa later replies, “That’s fine, I’m not working for you.”
The California Democrat asked the question that went through his mind: “stand my man, do not let them overtake me and get ready for a big fight.”
The congressman said they “spit out hatred”, “feel anger” and spread misinformation that he is a Chinese agent, or on the payroll for a voting machine business.
“I do not blame them,” Correa said. “I blame the president because the president is the most powerful man in the world.”
“He essentially said, ‘Yeah, that’s what’s going on, go get them,'” Correa said. “He’s the one who incited all this.”
The crowd shouts at Correa: “Who voted for you?”
“Lots of people,” he replied. “70% of the people in my district.”
Later in the video, a woman yells at the congressman that he and others have ruined the future of her children.
“No lady, it’s because of you,” he replied.
“You do not care for any of us,” shouted one man.
“Because I’m not taking your lies,” Correa replied.
Correa said the security of the airport eventually broke up the crowd around him.
“It shocked me that this kind of quarrel took place in an airport with all the security,” the congressman said. “I’ve always thought of airports as the safest place in America.”
He said that the security had taken his name, but that the names of the individuals who had bothered him had ‘apparently’ not been obtained. “So it was another big shock,” he said.
Micah Lillard, spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority, told CNN there were no arrests or charges related to the incident. He made no further comment.
Correa is a member of the House Judiciary Committee and supports the House Democratic effort to accuse the president of inciting the mob to try to overthrow Trump’s loss.
The news of Correa’s confrontation follows several other people involved with scientists and Trump supporters as they traveled to and from the Capitol.
Sen. South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham, a close ally of Trump who was critical of the president last week, was confronted and shouted at by Reagan National Airport by Trump supporters, according to videos posted on social media on Friday. Utah Senator Mitt Romney was also harassed by pro-Trump supporters on a flight from Salt Lake City to Washington, ahead of Wednesday’s protest.
The U.S. Capitol Police and Sergeant at the Armed Forces said they would coordinate with other law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Marshals Service, to ensure their safety. In addition, through the January 20 inauguration, agents of the Capitol Police will be stationed at the three major airports in the Washington DC area: Reagan National Airport, Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BMI) and Washington Dulles International Airport.
CNN’s Manu Raju and Clare Foran contributed to this report.