Representative. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) kicked off the first House Judiciary Committee hearing last week by cordially inviting an accused felon to lead the Pledge of Allegiance.
Under its new Republican leadership, the 118th House Judiciary Committee could choose to begin each hearing with the pledge, a rule change proposed by Gaetz that he said allows members to invite “inspired voters” to he drives it.
The first honor went to Corey Beekman, a retired National Guardsman accused of killing a man in 2019 whose case has not gone to trial.
Gaetz did not mention this aspect of his guest’s backstory. Beekman led the engagement in his military uniform on February 1.
“It is a real pleasure and honor to introduce to the committee Sgt. Corey Ryan Beekman, an American hero and constituent of mine who lives in Pensacola, Florida,” Gaetz said in the video still available on C-SPAN. He went over the story of Beekman’s life. A native of Holland, Mich., Gaetz said Beekman enlisted in the Michigan Army National Guard while still in high school before serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, then moving to Florida to be closer to family.
Beekman also allegedly shot and killed 32-year-old William Buchanan at a home in northern Michigan in April 2019, between his military service and moving to Florida.
A 32-year-old woman, Katlin Buck, was injured in the attack, local news reports said. However, UpNorthLive noted that Buck’s two sons were not injured.
The pandemic disrupted Beekman’s originally scheduled court date, and the charges were later dropped after Buck refused to testify against him, the Mason County Press reported.
Beekman was released in September 2020 from the Mason County Jail, where he had been held since 2019, the news outlet said.
Buchanan’s mother, Denita, told the Mason County Press that she believed her son went to the Beekman home to help Buck move, which led to the shooting and then a 90-minute standoff with police.
The Buchanans told several news outlets they were horrified to hear Gaetz was honoring Beekman.
“It was like a dagger through our hearts again,” Denita Buchanan told The Daily Beast.
But Gaetz’s office tried to fix things. The Buchanans said they received an American flag that had flown over the Capitol from Gaetz’s office, along with a signed letter from the congressman offering his condolences and apology, which the family appreciated, The Daily Beast reported.
Gaetz told the media that Beekman contacted his office for assistance and that no one in his office thought to conduct a thorough background check on a veteran in need.
Mason County Sheriff Kim Cole thought there wasn’t much to be expected from a quick internet search.
“There are certainly many more deserving people to represent our military veterans at the United States Capitol than Corey Beekman, a criminal,” Cole told the Mason County Press. “I am disappointed in Representative Gaetz’s office. A simple Google search would have shown that Mr. Beekman killed a man in rural Mason County.”
The Daily Beast noted that clips of Beekman leading the Pledge of Allegiance previously posted on YouTube and Twitter by government accounts have since been removed.
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