Lauren Boebert splashed campaign cash at Beetlejuice date’s drag-friendly bar

Lauren Boebert, a right-wing, anti-drag congresswoman, spent hundreds of dollars worth of campaign money at an LGBTQ+ bar, new records have found.

Months before the Colorado Republican was infamously booted from a local theatre production of Beetlejuice for vaping and “causing a disturbance”, Boebert splashed over $300 in campaign funding on a night out at the Hooch Craft Cocktail Bar in Aspen, her campaign finance filings have shown.

The bar also just so happens to be co-owned by Quinn Gallagher – the man who Boebert was caught getting frisky with during her trip to the theatre last month, but who she claims to no longer be dating because he is a Democrat.

Boebert has been clear about her staunch opposition to the LGBTQ+ community in general, so her excessive spending of campaign funds at a gay-friendly bar, which often hosts drag performances, is rather conflicting.

According to the finance filings, Boebert spent a total of $317.48 at the LGBTQ+ establishment on one night in late July. The expenditure is listed under “event catering.”

Commenting on Boebert’s concerning finance filings to Politico, her campaign manager Drew Sexton argued: “Meeting with donors and covering their food and beverage costs at a popular local establishment of their choosing is a standard campaign procedure.”

Boebert has made it clear that she strongly opposes drag performances, arguing that they expose children to explicit and lewd acts and “sexualise” public spaces.

“Take your children to CHURCH, not drag bars”, she wrote in a tweet back in 2022. 

Another tweet posted a few months later shared a picture of a poster for a drag story hour, alongside the caption: “Sending a message to all the drag queens out there: stay away from the children in Colorado’s Third District!”

It would all look a little bit tighter if Boebert hadn’t been busted last month for causing a disturbance in a local theatre by groping and heavily petting her date while sitting in an audience that included families and young children.

Boebert and Gallagher were escorted out of the Buell Theatre in Denver last month, after being accused of vaping, singing, taking photos, and touching her date’s crotch during a performance of the musical Beetlejuice, which is suggested for children aged 10 and up.

A police report from the night noted that Boebert was warned about her behaviour during the show’s intermission following three separate complaints before she was ultimately escorted out of the building by police.

Although Rep Bobert disputed the claims made against her at first, she eventually had no choice but to issue an apology when footage of the incident was released, blaming her behaviour on her ongoing divorce proceedings.

On 15 September in a Facebook statement, Boebert wrote that the incident had been “difficult and humbling” and she was “truly sorry for the unwanted attention my Sunday evening in Denver has brought to the community”. 

“Whether it was the excitement of seeing a much-anticipated production or the natural anxiety of being in a new environment, I genuinely did not recall vaping that evening when I discussed the night’s events with my campaign team while confirming my enthusiasm for the musical,” the statement reads.

“Regardless of my belief, it’s clear now that was not accurate; it was not my or my campaign’s intention to mislead, but we do understand the nature of how this looks. 

“We know we will have to work to earn your trust back and it may not happen overnight, but we will do it.”

Now that Boebert’s financial filings have exposed her further, it might take longer than she initially thought to earn back that trust she speaks of.