US Senator Darline Graham is seemingly trying to escape her family’s controversy. A man was forcefully removed from a campaign event after asking her about claims that her brother, Lindsey Graham, had sex with an underage escort. Lindsey died this summer at the age of 71 from issues related to his heart.
Allegations arose primarily from a documentary titled The CLOSETocracy, which was released this month. The film features allegations from three men who say the late South Carolina Republican senator paid them for private sexual encounters between 2001 and 2015. One of the men says he was underage at the time of the sexual encounter.
The allegations are particularly striking given Lindsey’s long-standing opposition to same-sex marriage and his record on LGBTQ+ rights. He opposed the Respect for Marriage Act, which codified federal protections for same-sex marriages, and has supported policies restricting LGBTQ+ rights in the military. Darline has also voiced opposition to same-sex marriage, placing both siblings at odds with efforts to expand marriage equality.
Darline, 62, was attending a “coffee and conversation” event in Greenville, South Carolina, on Wednesday when Patrick Howley, an anti-Trump commentator who describes himself as a “citizen journalist exposing dark secrets,” confronted her with questions. Howley followed up the encounter with Darline with a post he shared on X that showed him getting blocked and eventually escorted out of the room. “I asked Darline Graham if she can be honest about Lindsey’s alleged use of gay escorts, one of whom was 17. Her goons physically threw me out of the event!” he captioned the 42-second clip.
“Hey, uh, Darline, quick question. Will you be honest about your brother and the alleged use of male escorts?” Howley asks Darline in the video. “Will you, will you be honest about the male—” he tried to say before pivoting. “Somebody is blocking me.” The man blocking Howley asks him, “What are you doing?” “I’m just asking a question,” Howley responded.
“OK, well, this is a private event,” another chimed in. Howley continued with his questions aimed at Darline as someone continued to try and block him from going around him. But Howley persisted, asking, “Was your brother a homosexual man?” Several in the room yelled out to Howley, “Get him out. Get out.” While leaving, Howley stated, “She refuses to answer the question about the abuse of young men.”
Howley shared another post to X post after the incident, writing, “Darline should have just answered my questions about Lindsey’s gay escort accusers, one of whom was 17.”