A video of Democratic lawmaker Brian Sims confronting pro-life protesters has sparked outcry, including from Fox News’ Tucker Carlson, who said Sims might look like a “mentally-ill panhandler,” but is really a “Democratic star.”

Carlson’s biting comments came during his Tuesday show, where he replayed the now viral clip of Sims confronting a protester he repeatedly calls an “old white lady” who was silently praying outside a Planned Parenthood in the representative’s home district in Pennsylvania.

The video was originally published on Twitter by Sims, who implored “righteous opposition” and “push back” against pro-life protesters who “prey on young women,” “use white privilege,” and are “racist, classist, bigots.”

The Fox host was not exactly convinced that there was anything “righteous” about an elected official harassing an elderly woman for 9 minutes, and offered some “push back” of his own.

Despite the video you have seen – and despite all appearances – state Rep. Brian Sims is not a mentally-ill panhandler or a vagrant with a drug problem screaming at strangers. It looks like it. But he is not. He is an elected lawmaker.

Carlson also called out CNN for failing to even cover the story, saying their silence was indicative of the fact that they don’t see Sims’ behavior as a problem. Planned Parenthood, however, disagrees, releasing a statement Tuesday distancing themselves from the lawmakers’ actions.

It’s not the first time that Sims has sparked controversy for his confrontational style with the protesters. In a video posted to his Facebook page on April 18, he offers $100 dollars to help identify teenage girls protesting outside the same Planned Parenthood while openly taunting them.

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Sims’ progressive credentials are extensive: winning re-election in 2018, he is the first openly-gay elected state legislator in Pennsylvania history. He’s also an LGBTQ activist, and won a top award from the lobbying group “NARAL Pro-Choice America” in 2014.

After the widespread scandal spread and put Sims in national headlines, he offered an “apology” on Facebook. In the video, he promises to do better and admits he was too aggressive, but also said he should have shown how the protesters “pray at” and “harass” patients.

The tone of Tuesday’s apology was more conciliatory than a couple days earlier when he mocked his critics calling them “Pussy Grabbers and Baby Cagers.”

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