Breitbart reported earlier today that members of the National Guard currently assigned to the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., were forced to evacuate the building after a Democrat congressman witnessed a guardsman not wearing a mask, per federal COVID-19 protocols.
According to the report, Keating commented out loud on the importance of wearing a mask. The National Guardsman reportedly responded to the Congressman, “I appreciate my freedom.”
Keating released a statement Friday afternoon on the report, and confirmed that he did “mask-shame” members of the National Guard with whom he was posing for a picture:
“Leave it to Breitbart to concoct such a baseless story that’s been directly refuted by the National Guard. Yesterday, I was with a large number of people in a coffee shop in the House, some of whom weren’t wearing masks. I commented – to no one in particular – that this has the ingredients of a super-spreader event and we should all keep our masks on. A member of the National Guard chose to loudly refuse. That is the totality of what took place. Over 400,000 people have already died in this country, roughly 4,000 a day, due to COVID, and if I were in the same situation today, I would say the exact same thing. We all need to do our part, no matter who we are or what we do.”
A statement from the Massachusetts National Guard acknowledged the accusation, yet flatly denied its veracity:
“It has come to our attention that Congressman William Keating has been accused of banishing National Guardsmen to a parking garage after he reminded a Soldier of the requirement to wear a mask in all Federal buildings, to include the US Capitol. “It makes no sense and quite frankly could not be farther from the truth.”
