Jordanian MP pulls a gun on his critic

A Jordanian member of parliament pulled a gun on a political activist during a furious debate live on Jordanian TV on Thursday.

The MP, named in a YouTube clip of the confrontation as Mohammed Shawabka, was debating a political activist named in the clip as Mansour Sayf al-Din Murad, discussing aspects of Jordanian politics including attitudes surrounding the uprising in Syria.

As the Jo Sat TV station discussion became more heated, each of the men accused the other of various crimes and deviancies. Shawabka claimed Murad was in the pay of the Syrian regime. Murad countered that Shawabka worked for the Israeli Mossad intelligence agency. “You’re a Mossad agent,” he said. “You’re a big crook,” came the response.

The MP stood up and began screaming and pointing at the activist, who was sitting opposite him, while the host of the program, Mohammed Habashneh, seated in the center, desperately urged his guests to “calm down.”

Instead, the MP sat back down, bent over and took off his right shoe, and threw it at the activist, who ducked behind his desk, knocking it over.

Then the MP pulled a gun — a silver pistol — out of his waistband and briefly brandished it toward the activist, who walked toward him. The MP kept holding the gun, but was no longer pointing it at his critic.

The two men struggled, with the parliamentarian again careful now not to point the gun at his adversary, while the panicked host circumnavigated the strewn furniture to try to break up the fight.

But the two men would not be easily separated, and the brawl continued for some time before the program cut to the credits.