A state lawmaker ‘seeks help’ after shouting: ‘Don’t you know who I am?’ and threatened to close a bar whose staff asked him to leave.
Kevin Boyle, a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, told audience members, “Do you know who I am?” after they told him to go home.
No one was spared in his three-minute tirade, caught on camera, in which he called them everything from ‘idiots’ and ‘idiots’ to ‘traitors’ and ‘actors’ – with his tirade also liberally peppered with f-words.
He threatened to “terminate this bar” and block the promotions of who he mistakenly believed were military drinkers at Gaul & Co Malt House in Rockledge, Pennsylvania.
“You don’t think I’m going to stop your promotion in the US Army?” he roared in the video posted to social media.
Kevin Boyle (pictured with his wife) ‘is seeking help’ after shouting insults at customers and staff while appearing drunk in a bar
People at the bar begged Boyle to leave, saying he was drunk or on drugs, including one who said, “Listen, you just had a little too much to drink, just go home.”
However, Boyle, 44, only grew more belligerent as the video continued, declaring, “By the way, I can end this bar.”
One of the customers was confused by his tirade and said, “Nobody even said a word to you, you’re the one who started shooting.”
‘Why are you behaving like this? Is it US military intelligence and traitors and…” he replied, prompting one patron to say he has “no idea where the hell he is.”
“You idiots, you fucking idiots… you’re all fucking actors, you’re not from here… you’re all fucking traitors, US Military Intelligence,” he continued.
‘You’re not going to do anything, you’re not going to do anything. Don’t you think I’m going to stop your promotion in the US Army?’
The Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives told audience members, “Do you know who I am?” after they told him to go home
No one was spared in his three-minute tirade, caught on camera, in which he called them everything from “idiots” and “idiots” to “traitors” and “actors”
The patrons he addressed told him they were not in the military and did not understand why he was ranting about military intelligence.
Finally, the female bartender lost her patience and yelled at him to “get the fuck out of the damn bar.”
Boyle refused to go as the bartender continued to tell him to get out and remove his hand from her face while pointing at her.
He asked if he had paid his bill and was told that he had, before explaining: ‘I don’t want to be an asshole… I don’t want to be an asshole.’
“That’s right,” the bartender replied, again telling him to leave.
Boyle said she was “so aggressive” and told her “you can’t talk to me like that, I’m closing your fucking bar, this bar is done.”
‘Do you know who I am? This bar will be ready tomorrow, do you know who I am?’ he continued.
He threatened to “terminate this bar” and block the promotions of who he mistakenly believed were military drinkers at Gaul & Co Malt House in Rockledge, Pennsylvania.
Boyle has barely been seen in public in recent months, has missed numerous House hearings and has not updated his official social media since September
The Pennsylvania House Democratic Leadership called the video “deeply disturbing” and showed why access to mental health care was important.
“Representative Boyle has been open about his personal challenges. We are encouraged that our colleague and dear friend is seeking help,” the statement said.
“Our commitment to providing mental health care does not stop at the Capitol Steps.
“One of the main reasons we advocate so strongly for access to mental health care is the reality that problems can and do happen to anyone, and that seeking treatment should be encouraged, not stigmatized.”
Boyle, the brother of Congressman Brendan Boyle, has a long history of mental health issues that nearly cost him his job in 2022 and led to legal trouble in 2021.
His recent scandals have been an extraordinary fall from grace for the former rising star, who toppled a Republican former Speaker of the House of Representatives at just 30 years old.
He may not even run for re-election this year after representing the Northeast Philadelphia district since 2011.
Next Tuesday’s filing deadline for April’s Democratic primary is fast approaching, and Boyle has yet to file for election.
Boyle has barely been seen in public in recent months, has missed numerous House hearings and has not updated his official social media since September.
Democrats are concerned that there will even be anyone on the ballot to defend the seat against Republican challengers
One of them, Patrick Gushue, who will contest the primary against Aizaz Gill, did not outright call on Boyle to resign but denounced his behavior.
“His unacceptable behavior and threats to use his position of authority to close a local business highlight the need for new leadership in the district,” he wrote online.
Boyle’s recent scandals were an extraordinary fall from grace for the former rising star, who toppled a Republican former Speaker of the House of Representatives at just 30 years old
Bob Stewart, who ran against Boyle in the 2022 primary but planned to sit out this year, said he might have to take the fight after seeing the video.
“If he withdraws, I would lose my duty to my neighbors,” he said.
Boyle’s downward spiral began in 2021 with a series of bizarre social media posts that began with him calling a colleague a “total fraud” who was “playing the race card.”
“Isaiah Thomas is probably the worst member of the Philadelphia City Council,” he tweeted about his old friend, who was confused by the sudden attack.
“In a city where the murder rate is so out of control, he is literally defending efforts to further limit police work. Moreover, he plays the race card. Total fraud!’
More outbursts led to him being removed from his position as chairman of the House Finance Committee and his access to the Capitol restricted.
He was then charged in September 2021 with harassment and violating a protection from abuse order issued by his wife and mother of his two young children.
Boyle was able to escape with a mental health evaluation and treatment plan in a deal with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.
“It is important to note that Kevin Boyle is not charged with any act of violence,” Boyle’s attorney R. Emmett Madden said at the time.
“He intends to follow all court, mental health and medical recommendations, including treatment.
“We are confident that with treatment Kevin can return to full health, resolve these charges and continue to serve his constituents.”
Boyle’s downward spiral began in 2021 with a series of bizarre social media posts, starting with calling his colleague and longtime friend Isiah Thomas (pictured together) a “total fraud” who was “playing the race card.”
Boyle was accused of harassment and violating a protection from abuse order issued by his wife and the mother of his two young children.
Boyle wrote a letter to voters before the primary accusing psychosis caused by an adverse reaction to the Adderall he was taking to treat ADHD.
“Family and friends could see that I was beginning to behave differently, that my mental health was deteriorating,” he wrote.
‘But I couldn’t see it myself. I lost touch with reality and suffered from paranoid delusions.
‘I’m very, very lucky. I now understand, in a personal way, that a psychological problem can arise in any person.’
Boyle claimed that the treatment he had to undergo at a mental health facility as a result of his arrest saved his life.
Republicans called on him to resign and “focus on his personal health and the future well-being of those around him.”
But Democratic leaders continued to support him, and he won the 2022 primaries and prevailed in the general election.