Black Members: Tea Partiers Used N-Word

“They were shouting the N-word,” Carson said. “It was like a page out of a time machine.” Carson said Capitol Police surrounded the group and escorted them across the street to the Capitol.

The lawmaker said he didn’t feel physically threatened though he was concerned for Lewis. But he added Lewis, a veteran of the civil rights movement, remained calm, telling him, “I’m being reminded of an old time.”

Thousands of tea party activists descended on the Capitol complex today to register their opposition to the health care overhaul.