A state lawmaker is ‘seeking help’ after screeching ‘Don’t you know who I am?’ and threatening to close down a bar whose staff asked him to leave.
Kevin Boyle, a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, told onlookers ‘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 where he called them everything from ‘idiots’ and ‘morons’ to ‘traitors’ and ‘actors’ – with his rant liberally-peppered with f-words too.
He threatened to ‘end this bar’ and to block the promotions of who he wrongly thought were military drinking at Gaul & Co Malt House in Rockledge, Pennsylvania.
‘Do you not think I’m going to prevent your promotion in the United States military?’ he bellowed in the video posted to social media.
Kevin Boyle (pictured with his wife) is ‘seeking help’ after screaming abuse at patrons and staff while appearing to be drunk at a bar
People at the bar pleaded with Boyle to leave, saying he was drunk or on drugs, including one who said: ‘Listen, you just drank a little bit too much, just go home.’
However, Boyle, 44, just got more belligerent as the video went on, declaring ‘I can end this bar, by the way’.
One of the patrons was confused by his rant, saying ‘no one even said a word to you, you’re the one who starting shooting off’.
‘Why are you acting this way? Is it US Military intelligence and traitors and…’ he replied, prompting one patron to say he ‘has no idea where the f**k he is’.
‘You idiots, you f**king morons… you’re all f**king actors, you’re not from here… you’re all f**king traitors, US Military intelligence,’ he continued.
‘You’re not gonna do anything, you’ll do nothing. Do you not think I’m going to prevent your promotion in the United States military?’
The Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives told onlookers ‘do you know who I am?’ after they told him to go home
No one was spared in his three-minute rant caught on camera where he called them everything from ‘idiots’ and ‘morons’ to ‘traitors’ and ‘actors’
The patrons he was addressing told him they were not in the military and didn’t understand why he was ranting about military intelligence.
Eventually, the female bartender lost patience and yelled at him to ‘get the f**k out of the f**king bar’.
Boyle refused to go while the bartender continued to tell him to get out and take his hand out of her face as he pointed at her.
He asked if he paid his bill and was told he did, before explaining ‘I don’t wanna be a douchebag… I don’t wanna be an a**hole’.
‘Well you are,’ the bartender replied, again telling him to leave.
Boyle said she was being ‘so aggressive’ and told her ‘you can’t talk to me like this, I’ll close your f**king bar, this bar is done’.
‘Do you know who the f**k I am? this bar is done tomorrow, do you know who the f**k I am?’ he continued.
He threatened to ‘end this bar’ and to block the promotions of who he wrongly thought were military drinking at Gaul & Co Malt House in Rockledge, Pennsylvania
Boyle has barely been seen in public the past several months, missing numerous House sittings and not updating his official social media since September
The Pennsylvania House Democratic Leadership called the video ‘very troubling’ and showed why access to mental health services was important.
‘Representative Boyle has been open about his personal challenges. We are encouraged that our colleague and dear friend is seeking help,’ it said.
‘Our commitment to delivering mental health services does not stop at the Capitol Steps.
‘One of the main reasons we advocate so strongly for mental health access is the reality that challenges can and do happen to anyone, and seeking treatment should be encouraged, not stigmatized.’
Boyle, the brother of Congressman Brendan Boyle, has a long history of mental health issues that almost cost him his job in 2022, and led to legal troubles in 2021.
His recent scandals were an extraordinary fall from grace for the former rising star, who knocked over a Republican former House speaker aged just 30.
He may not even run for reelection this year, after representing the Northeast Philadelphia district since 2011.
The filing deadline of next Tuesday to run in the Democratic primary in April is fast approaching and Boyle has yet to nominate for election.
Boyle has barely been seen in public the past several months, missing numerous House sittings and not updating his official social media since September.
Democrats are concerned about having someone on the ballot at all to defend the seat against Republican challengers
One of them, Patrick Gushue, who will contest the primary against Aizaz Gill, didn’t outright call for Boyle to resign, but blasted his conduct.
‘His unacceptable behavior and threats to utilize his position of authority to close a local business highlights the needs 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 knocked over a Republican former House speaker aged just 30
Bob Stewart, who ran against Boyle in the 2022 primary but planned to sit this year out, said he may have to enter the fray after seeing the video.
‘If he’s gonna pull out, I would run out of duty to my neighbors,’ he said.
Boyle’s downward spiral began in 2021 with a series of bizarre social media posts starting with calling a colleague a ‘total fraud’ who was ‘playing the race card’.
‘Isaiah Thomas is probably the worst member of Philadelphia City Council,’ he tweeted of his longtime friend, who was confused by the sudden attack.
‘In a city with a murder rate so out of control he’s literally championing efforts to further restrict policing. Furthermore he’s playing the race card. Total fraud!’
More outbursts led to him being removed from his position as House Finance Committee chair and his access to the Capitol building restricted.
Then in September 2021, he was charged with harassment and violating a protection from abuse order taken out 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 accused of any act of violence,’ Boyle’s attorney, R Emmett Madden said at the time.
‘He intends to follow through with 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 serving 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 in charged with harassment and violating a protection from abuse order taken out by his wife and mother of his two young children
Boyle penned a letter to voters before the primary blaming psychosis brought on by an adverse reaction to the Adderall he was taking to treat ADHD.
‘Family and friends could tell that I was starting to act differently, that my mental health was in decline,’ he wrote.
‘But I couldn’t see it myself. I lost touch with reality and suffered from paranoid delusions.
‘I am very, very lucky. I now understand, in a personal way, that a mental health problem can develop in any person.’
Boyle claimed the treatment he was forced to receive at a mental health facility as a result of his arrest saved his life.
Republicans called for him to resign and ‘focus on his personal health and the future well-being of those around him’.
But the Democratic leadership stuck by him, and he won the 2022 primary and prevailed in the general election.