Rep. Mike Lawler, who represents NY-17 – one of the most heavily Jewish districts in the country – publicly detailed Wednesday a confrontation with Rand Paul’s son at a Capitol Hill bar earlier this week, during which the younger Paul directed antisemitic and homophobic remarks at the congressman before stumbling out of the establishment.

Lawler said he was eating at the Tune Inn bar in Washington with a friend and a journalist when William Paul approached the group, identified himself as the Kentucky senator’s son, and inserted himself into their conversation. Paul claimed that if Rep. Thomas Massie lost his primary, “it’s because of my people.”

“I asked him, who is my people?” Lawler recounted to reporters on the Capitol steps Wednesday afternoon. “And he yelled out, ‘Jews.'”

Lawler, who is of Irish-Italian descent, told Paul he is not Jewish. Paul’s response, the congressman said, was telling. “He goes, ‘oh, I’m sorry to accuse you of that,’ which is just a remarkable statement in and of itself.”

What followed, Lawler said, was a roughly ten-minute tirade trafficking in antisemitic tropes. At one point, Paul stated that “he hates Jews and hates gays and doesn’t care if they die.”

“And I think that’s… disgusting,” Lawler said.

The incident was first reported by NOTUS, whose reporter was present at the bar when it occurred. The confrontation ended when Paul gave Lawler the middle finger and, the congressman said, “tripped on his way out the door.”

The Anti-Defamation League condemned William Paul’s remarks as “disgusting and dangerous” and credited Lawler for speaking out. “The fact that a member of Congress was subjected to this kind of abuse so openly is outrageous and a sign of how far too normalized antisemitism has become,” the group said in a statement.

“Last night, I had too much to drink and said some things that don’t represent who I really am. I’m sorry and today I am seeking help for my drinking problem,” William Paul posted on his X account Wednesday afternoon.

Lawler has been among the more vocal members of Congress on antisemitism. Last month, he and Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) introduced a resolution targeting antisemitic rhetoric from commentators Hasan Piker and Candace Owens, urging social media platforms to enforce their hate speech policies.

“I think it speaks to a larger issue in society and what we’re seeing among young people and online,” Lawler said Wednesday. “This is the level of hatred and vitriol that some of my Jewish colleagues experience, but also that many of my constituents experience.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)