Andy Harris Cost of Living Iran War Controversy Maryland

Andy Harris Blamed Diesel Prices on 'Environmental Regulations,' Called His Audience Rude When They Laughed, Then Ordered a Reporter's Camera Taken and Called for an Officer

At a debate, asked about Trump's deal to let Russian diesel in, Andy Harris blamed Democrats' environmental rules for fuel prices that are up 72% as the Iran war drags on. When the audience laughed, he called them rude. Afterward, he told a Capital News Service reporter she was breaking Maryland law by recording him in a room full of cameras, told someone to take her camera, and called for an officer.

MAGA Report Cards · Oct 15, 2026

Andy Harris Blamed Diesel Prices on 'Environmental Regulations,' Called His Audience Rude When They Laughed, Then Ordered a Reporter's Camera Taken and Called for an Officer — Photo: Mediaite

Andy Harris had one job on Tuesday night: stand in front of his own constituents and answer their questions. It did not go well.

At a League of Women Voters debate in Cambridge on October 13, more than 150 Eastern Shore residents came to hear Harris and his Democratic challenger, Dan Schwartz, answer the questions they had submitted to the League, Maryland Matters reported. By the end of the night, Harris had told the room they were rude, refused to calm his own side down, and threatened a reporter with prosecution.

The diesel answer

The question that blew up the room was about the Trump administration's deal to let Russian diesel into the country. Senators from both parties have called that order illegal; Schwartz called it "disgusting," because, as he put it, Russia is "actively working with Iranian forces to kill our troops."

Harris went another way. Diesel prices had gone up, he said. "There's no question about it. Why has it gone up? Because the Democrats —"

He got as far as "environmental regulations" before the room broke into laughter and groans.

The laughter had a point. The next day, the government's own numbers showed fuel oil, which includes diesel, is up 72% for the year and gas is up 34% — "as the Iran war drags on," Stateline reported. Inflation hit 3.7% in September, the highest since May. The war that is driving those prices is one Harris has backed: he is among the Republicans we track who voted to keep Trump's Iran war going when the House tried to end it.

"You are rude"

Instead of answering, Harris turned on the audience. "This is the problem," he told them: they said they believed in the First Amendment, but only if they agreed with him.

A video the Star Democrat posted is titled "Harris calls constituent rude." Mediaite quoted him snapping at one woman: "You should let me finish the sentence, Ma'am. You are rude!"

When the League's local president asked both candidates to urge their supporters to stay civil, Schwartz did. Harris refused. "My people aren't interfering with Mr. Schwartz. It's only one way," he said.

These are the voters he represents. They came with questions they had submitted in advance. When they reacted to his answer, he lectured them about the First Amendment.

"Get an officer in here"

Then came the part that went viral.

After the debate, a group of reporters gathered around Harris, nearly all of them recording. He singled out one: Cat Murphy of Capital News Service. According to video the Baltimore Banner posted, and a transcript published by Mediaite, it went like this:

Harris: You do not have my permission to record. If you record, we will refer you to the prosecutor.

Murphy: Everyone in here is recording.

Harris: But you are not allowed to. We are in a two-party state.

When Murphy asked him about his past comments on the Iran war, he escalated: "Take her camera. You're gonna take a camera. She is violating the law. In fact, get an officer in here."

"Sir, we are in public," Murphy answered. "Congressman, you said that you supported the First Amendment. What does this say about that?"

Harris walked out. "She's ruining all your chances to get an answer about anything," he told the other reporters. "Thank her. Thank her profusely."

He got the law wrong

Harris claimed he "actually know[s] the law well" because he's a legislator. He doesn't, on this one. Maryland's two-party consent law covers private conversations — ones where people expect privacy. A congressman answering a crowd of reporters in a public room after a public debate isn't that. And of the many people recording him, he went after only one of them.

His office didn't respond to Mediaite's request for comment.

A pattern of not answering

Harris has been in Congress since 2011 and is asking for a ninth term. At the debate, his pitch was that "experience counts." But what voters on the Eastern Shore saw was a congressman who blamed Democrats for fuel prices that have soared as the war he voted to continue drags on, scolded the people asking, and tried to have a reporter's camera taken away for asking a follow-up.

He has a record of standing apart even from his own party: he was the only member of the House to vote "present" when it condemned QAnon 371 to 18.

In summary

Asked about Trump's deal to bring in Russian diesel, Andy Harris blamed Democrats' environmental regulations for fuel prices that federal data show are up 72% for the year as the Iran war he voted to continue drags on. He called his own constituents rude when they laughed and refused to ask his supporters to be civil. After the debate, he falsely told a reporter that recording him in a room full of cameras broke Maryland law, told someone to take her camera, and called for an officer.

Update, October 18, 2026: no apology, and a staffer files charges

Two days after the debate, Harris went on Fox 45 Baltimore and doubled down. Anchor Mikenzie Frost pressed him on whether he regretted threatening to have Murphy prosecuted. He didn't, The Hill reported:

"It's not very newsworthy that the liberal media badgers a conservative politician, what was newsworthy is that I actually pushed back against it."

"The liberal media has been doing this for years. Nobody pushes back. I pushed back, liberal media got offended," he said. He repeated his claim that Murphy was breaking Maryland's two-party consent law. The Hill noted that the law "does not apply to public situations with 'no reasonable expectation of privacy.'"

Murphy is a student reporter. She told CNN's Jake Tapper, "I was focused on doing my job and asking my questions that I wanted answers to, and I think I did that."

Meanwhile, a staffer in Harris's office accused a 68-year-old Easton man, Lance Simon, of assault and disorderly conduct after the same debate, CBS News Baltimore reported. Witnesses told The Baltimore Banner that Simon objected to being recorded and allegedly struck the staffer with a baseball cap. A hearing is set for December 7. Harris didn't respond to CBS's request for comment.