House Stenographer Dragged Out After Outburst

Picture all the people present in the House chamber last night, and select the one most likely to lose it. Didn't pick "the House stenographer"? Yeah, neither did we, but that is apparently what happened during last night's debt ceiling/shutdown vote. Politico reports that a woman named as Dianne Reidy grabbed the microphone on the dais just below where the House presiding officer sits and began ranting about God and the Freemasons. Though the video of the outburst doesn't contain the audio, you can hear it here. The bulk of what she was saying:

• "He will not be mocked. He will not be mocked. Don’t touch me. He will not be mocked. The greatest deception here is this is not 'one nation under God.' It never was. Had it been ... The Constitution would not have been written by Freemasons. They go against God. ... You cannot serve two masters. You cannot serve two masters. Praise be to God. Lord Jesus Christ."

She was quickly escorted out and into an elevator. Roll Call describes lawmakers looking on "in a mix of bewilderment and shock"; Rep. Joaquin Castro told the AP she had a crazed look on her face. (More House stenographer stories.)