Two Christian students from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, who were mocked during a rally for Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, are now speaking out about the incident.
Grant Beth and Luke Polaske, both juniors, were interviewed on Fox & Friends Weekend, where they shared their experience of feeling targeted for their faith after making religious statements at the rally.
The students said they attended the rally last week and shouted phrases like “Christ is King” when Harris began discussing abortion rights.
Beth described how the situation quickly escalated, with Harris mocking them, and members of the crowd becoming hostile.
Beth recalled how he felt mistreated, saying, “An elderly woman pushed me. We were heckled, cursed at, and mocked.” He compared their experience to what Jesus and his disciples faced. “In reflection, Jesus was mocked, and his disciples were mocked.
But that’s okay because we were there for the right reasons, doing God’s work,” he explained. Beth remained confident in their mission, believing they were meant to be there as part of a greater purpose. “God is watching us, and I believe we were sent to that rally by Him.”
The incident occurred during Harris’s speech on restoring abortion rights, where she sarcastically addressed the two students after hearing their shouts. “You guys are at the wrong rally,” she said, according to The New York Post. “I think you meant to go to the smaller one down the street,” Harris joked, pausing her speech to address them.
Polaske shared a similar experience of being singled out by Harris. He said they were about 20 to 30 yards away from her and felt that she deliberately mocked them. “She was actually waving to me,” Polaske said. “I took the cross off my neck, held it up in the air, and waved at her.
As we were being asked to leave, I pointed it at her, and she gave me this evil smirk.” Polaske was confident Harris was mocking them directly. “I just want to confirm that she 100% was talking to us.”
Harris continued her speech by emphasizing her commitment to abortion rights. “When Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom nationwide, as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law,” she told the crowd.
The students saw the incident as part of a larger pattern in Harris’s behavior. Polaske criticized Harris for alienating Christians and dismissing their beliefs.
“This is what you’re going to get with a Kamala Harris presidency,” he said. “You’re going to get a Kamala Harris that alienates over 50% of the U.S. population that is Christian.”
Beth and Polaske stood by their actions and said they were confident they had done the right thing by standing up for their faith, despite the backlash they faced.