New video disproves Boebert's claim she didn't vape before being bounced from 'Beetlejuice'

Recently revealed surveillance video disproves a claim from U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert’s staff about why she was kicked out of a "Beetlejuice" musical performance in Denver Sunday evening.

Boebert, whose congressional district includes Pueblo, the Western Slope and the San Luis Valley, was ejected from the show shortly after the second act started because she and her date were allegedly causing a disturbance by vaping, taking photos and singing loudly, disrupting other theatergoers.

Video shows Boebert vaping at the theater

Boebert's campaign manager originally asserted that the congresswoman did not vape during the performance, claiming people were just seeing artificial fog that was part of the performance.

The surveillance video shows Boebert clearly inhaling and exhaling a small cloud of vapor. The lights are on in the theater and other audience members are filing into their seats, so the video appears to be captured approximately 10 minutes before the start of the performance.

The city of Denver provided surveillance video to the Chieftain and many other news outlets earlier this week showing Boebert and her guest being ejected from the theater, but footage from earlier portions of the evening was first reported by 9News Thursday evening.

The Chieftain has reached out to Boebert's campaign manager, Drew Sexton, for comment about the recently reported surveillance footage. Sexton did not immediately respond to the Chieftain's request.

A reported Denver Post Opinion story Wednesday afternoon attributes a pregnant woman, whose name was withheld, who sat behind Boebert during the performance.

The woman told The Denver Post she asked Boebert to stop vaping during the performance and asked ushers if there were any alternative seats available for the second act of the musical. She didn’t realize the congresswoman was the one causing a disturbance, though, until after the show. The pregnant woman also shared that she asked the congresswoman to stop vaping, but Boebert said “no.”

The Denver Post also first broke the story about Boebert being ejected from the "Beetlejuice" performance.

The additional surveillance footage also shows Boebert using the flash function on her phone to take photos during the musical. The venue prohibits taking photos and videos and the policy is “strictly enforced.”

What Boebert and her guest allegedly told staff

The congresswoman and her guest, as they were being escorted out of the show, allegedly told security staff, “Do you know who I am?” and “I will be contacting the mayor.”

That’s according to an incident report from the Buell Theater, provided to the Chieftain by the city of Denver. The incident report does not include the names of the patrons escorted out of the theater and the identities of venue staff have been redacted. However, Boebert herself in a social media post and her campaign manager confirmed earlier this week that she did not catch the entire performance.

The Chieftain confirmed Wednesday with a spokesperson from Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s office that nobody had reached out to them regarding the ejection from the Sunday evening performance.

Johnston wrote a tongue-in-cheek post Thursday evening on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Took the family to #Beetlejuice tonight at @DenverCenter, cast was incredible, staff was so kind, and didn’t find anyone who needed to call the mayor,” Johnston wrote, adding a shrug emoji.

Anna Lynn Winfrey covers politics for the Pueblo Chieftain. She can be reached at awinfrey@gannett.com or on Twitter, @annalynnfrey. Please support local news at subscribe.chieftain.com.