Tensions were high Wednesday night as Ted Cruz selfishly promoted his 2020 presidential campaign and decided not to endorse Republican nominee Donald Trump. Hollering and booing were heard throughout the arena after Cruz's stunt, but it was a British TV journalist that almost felt the wrath of the Alabama frustration.
"I'm glad they made the Alabama Delegation check their guns at the door," the 72-year-old former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Terry Butts said. "I'm a Southern boy, I know how to hand out what's given."
Apparently, as reported by AL.com, the journalist forced his way through the crowd during the commotion, and as he did, he shoved Butts' 66-year-old wife, Suze, and knocked her off balance.
"He shoved her so hard I had to catch her," Butts said. "I'm still in pretty good shape and I jammed him up against the wall with my elbow. I said, 'Touch my wife again and they'll have to haul you out of here.'"
Fellow delegate Dennis Beavers was nearby and said the Alabama delegation was "not going to take that kind of behavior" and came to Mrs. Butts' aid. "You're gonna take care of your own, and that's what this group did," he said. "And I almost got to whipping," he said.
"They were ready to fight," Mrs. Butts said referring to her husband and the British reporter. "He was about to get his ass beat."
The fellow doesn't know how lucky he was, Beavers said. "Everybody up here was locked and loaded."
All that was needed after the frustration with Ted Cruz's speech was a little shove from a Brit to send the Alabama delegation over the edge.
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