Democratic Tennessee congressional candidate Aftyn Behn sobbed and screamed at the top of her lungs as security removed her from Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s office in resurfaced footage from April 2019.
Behn and other women with the activist group, Enough is Enough-Tennessee, staged a sit-in inside the state capitol and demanded to speak to Lee about calling for the resignation of the then-Republican state Rep. David Byrd, who was accused of sexual misconduct at the time. The women, including Behn, tried to rush into the governor’s office when the doors were open on April 17, 2019, prompting security to remove her from the premises.
Footage posted by NewsChannel 5 Nashville shows security dragging Behn out of the office as she screamed at the top of her lungs. She then sat on her knees and sobbed on the floor.
WATCH:
HOLY SMOKES! Footage has been resurfaced of Democrat Congressional candidate Aftyn Behn, running for the open TN-7 seat, SCREAMING after storming into Gov. Bill Lee’s office.
Police had to DRAG her out like a child.
Election day is Dec. 2. pic.twitter.com/zfusIco83p
Vote for…
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) November 24, 2025
State troopers warned that the women would be arrested if they did leave the building, prompting several of them to follow orders. However, Behn and a few others remained in the building and were soon arrested.
A month later, footage showed Behn screaming from the wing of the state house chambers during the 111th General Assembly Meeting and calling on Byrd to resign. Security forcibly escorted her from the area, cited her and later released her from custody that evening.
Behn is currently running against Republican candidate Matt Van Epps, a former commissioner for Lee, to be the next U.S. representative for Tennessee’s 7th district. A special election in the district will be held on Dec. 2 following the resignation of former Republican Tennessee Rep. Mark Green.
Behn has openly insulted her state and the constituents she hopes to represent. She called Tennessee “racist” and also stated that it is a “godforsaken” state in resurfaced footage from 2023. She also stated during a February 2020 appearance on the “Year old GRITS” podcast that she hated everything about Nashville.
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