Congressman sports a hoodie on House floor

Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) was rebuked on the House floor Wednesday after he donned a hooded sweatshirt and protest the shooting death of Trayvon Martin – which many lawmakers have called a case of racial profiling.

During one-minute speeches, when House members can talk on the floor on a topic of their choosing, Rush wore a gray hooded sweatshirt and sunglasses and spoke about Martin’s death.

“I applaud the young people all across the land who are making a statement about hoodies, about the real hoodlums in this nation,” said Rush, whose son was gunned down in 1999. “Racial profiling has to stop … just because someone wears a hoodie does not make them a hoodlum.”

Hats are banned in the House chamber. The presiding lawmaker, Rep. Gregg Harper (R-Miss.), interrupted Rush to ask the House Sergeant-At-Arms to enforce those rules and said “members need to remove their hoods or leave the floor.” Rush said he was escorted off the floor by someone from the Sergeant-At-Arms office.

via politico.com