(Associated Press) A California lawmaker was removed from the state Senate floor after refusing to stop delivering a speech criticizing late state Sen. Tom Hayden for his leadership role in the anti-Vietnam War movement of the 1960s.
Republican Sen. Janet Nguyen lived in South Vietnam as a child and fled with her family when its U.S.-backed government fell. She spoke during a portion of the Senate session reserved for memorializing people who have died, and the presiding senator told security to remove her Thursday.
Several sergeants-at-arms surrounded Nguyen and gently nudged her toward the door. Nguyen dodged them and continued yelling passages from her speech for nearly a minute as the presiding Democrat repeatedly told her to stop.
"I have every right to speak on behalf of the 500,000" Vietnamese-Americans living in California, Nguyen yelled before leaving the chamber as another senator said her comments were disrespectful and inappropriate.