"The Cruz family should be treated with respect," Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas) tweeted Tuesday in defense of Sen. Ted Cruz after he was forced by protesters to leave a restaurant. | Tom Fox-Pool/Getty Images Elections After protesters find Cruz at D.C. restaurant, O'Rourke calls it 'not right'

Democratic Rep. Beto O'Rourke defended the right of Sen. Ted Cruz, his opponent in the Texas Senate race, to eat in peace after protesters bragged about chasing the Republican out of a Washington restaurant Monday night.

"Not right that Senator Cruz and his wife Heidi were surrounded and forced to leave a restaurant last night because of protesters. The Cruz family should be treated with respect," the Texas congressman tweeted Tuesday morning.


According to video posted online, protesters targeted Cruz and his wife for complaints about the confirmation process for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who has been accused of sexual assault in high school and college. Protesters chanted "We believe survivors!" and one called out, "Beto is way hotter than you, dude." Cruz left the restaurant, muttering "God bless you" to the protesters.

Cruz has called the allegations against Kavanaugh "serious" and called for a hearing for Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who said Kavanaugh groped her when they were in high school. Cruz expressed his support for Kavanaugh earlier this summer, and the protesters on Monday demanded he explain his current position on the nominee. Cruz does not appear to have commented publicly on the incident.

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Cruz isn't the first prominent Republican to be chased from a restaurant. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked to leave a Virginia restaurant this summer, and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was cornered and heckled at a Mexican restaurant in June for her role in executing President Donald Trump's zero-tolerance immigration policy.

