WASHINGTON – The western Wisconsin member of Congress who launched into an expletive-laden tirade at teen-age Senate pages in the U.S. Capitol rotunda last week, Derrick Van Orden, has no significant court record involving alcohol, according to records in states where he has lived. The alcohol issue became relevant because Van Orden acknowledged drinking before the Rotunda disorder. His court record includes:
> A 1994 disorderly conduct charge, which was dismissed. This was in Fredricksburg, Virginia.
> A 2006 speeding ticket in Chesapeake, Virginia, for driving 72 mph in a 55 zone. His fine, $177, was paid in absentia.
> A 2022 charge of carrying handgun through check-in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, airport. He paid a $360 fine
Court records were checked in California, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oregon, Virginia and Wisconsin.
Hello, Washington. Van Orden cultivated a tough, macho campaign image with news photo opps astride a top-of-the-line Harley-Davidson. So too when he arrived in Washington on his Harley in 2022 as a newly elected House member from Wisconsin Congressional District 3,
Earlier: Van Orden’s blood-alcohol level that night?
Earlier: Airport check catches WI-3 candidate with handgun
Earlier: Fellow Wisconsin solon to Van Orden: Own up to deed
Earlier: Van Orden challenger: He’s unfit for office
Earlier: His side on cussing out pages: Faults news media
Earlier: Democrats question WI-3’s Van Orden character
Earlier: House GOP chief rails against GOP Congressman
Earlier: Senate leader rebukes Van Orden behavior
Earlier: Van Orden attacks teen-age Capitol pages as jackasses