Yvette Benarroch says Angie Nixon’s bullhorn protest left her with possible ear damage, files workers’ comp claim

Naples Republican Rep. Yvette Benarroch says she is dealing with possible ear damage after Jacksonville Democratic Rep. Angie Nixon used a bullhorn next to her on the House floor.

Nixon used the megaphone to protest a chaotic Special Session vote on congressional redistricting — an incident that also contributed to confusion that briefly altered recorded votes.

Benarroch told Florida Politics that Nixon used the bullhorn next to her ear during Wednesday’s vote, forcing her to seek medical attention at the emergency room. Benarroch said she has been referred to a specialist for further evaluation. She has also filed a workers’ compensation claim as a result of the incident.

“This is the second day and my ear’s still muffled. It kind of hurts, but it’s not like an earache pain. You know when you go on the plane and your ear gets clogged up, it’s almost like that. I feel that stuffiness in my ear there and it rings,” Benarroch said.

The episode unfolded during the House vote on a congressional map redraw, when Nixon interrupted proceedings with a handheld megaphone while shouting objections to the proposal.

The disruption also created confusion on the floor, with two Democratic lawmakers initially recorded “yes” votes on the map before later switching to “no,” with one citing the “commotion with the bullhorn” as the reason for the mistake.

“There’s people that noted no because there was confusion, people thought it was a fire drill. Everything was, like, crazy in there,” Benarroch said. “That has no place in the Florida House. We can debate, we can disagree, but you just don’t do that.”

Benarroch said Nixon was “screaming with that bullhorn” just feet from where she was seated before pacing throughout other parts of the chamber.

“At the time I felt something in my right ear, but I didn’t think anything of it,” Benarroch said.

Benarroch said symptoms began shortly after the House vote.

“We get off the floor, and as I ate lunch I was going back to my office. I get on the elevator and I start feeling, like, lightheaded, dizzy. And then my ear felt like — I don’t know, it’s a weird feeling. It’s like its stuffy, like, congested. I don’t know how to explain it. Muffled,” she said.

“So I went into the clinic, because we have a clinic there. The nurses checked my ear and said, ‘You know, we think you should go to the doctor because somebody needs to look in your ear.’”

Benarroch said she was later treated in an emergency room and has since begun the process of seeing a specialist. Emergency medical staff told her that she could be experiencing “acoustic shock,” but referred her to a specialist for diagnosis. As of the second day after the incident, she said she is still having symptoms.

“It could go away in a few days or maybe it won’t go away, but I need to see a specialist now,” she said.

Because the incident occurred during official legislative business, Benarroch said she has filed a workers’ compensation claim. She had a previous health issue with an ankle, when she learned that she should file a claim for incidents suffered while working at the capitol. 

Benarroch said she does not believe Nixon intended to cause harm with her protest, but said she may have suffered ear damage as an unintended consequence nonetheless.

“I don’t think she did it intentionally. But, you know, ignorant behavior like that has consequences,” she said. “People don’t understand that sometimes that’s what happens, people get hurt.”

The incident has also drawn broader scrutiny of decorum and safety inside the chamber, including recent criticism from Gov. Ron DeSantis. Benarroch said lawmakers should not have to worry about being physically injured while carrying out their duties.

“The only reason why I posted is because there has to be consequences for those actions,” Benarroch said. “When we go on the floor, like, we shouldn’t be afraid of getting hurt, especially by another member.”

The map ultimately passed both chambers and headed to the Governor. Nixon, who is running for U.S. Senate, has defended her tactics on social media, arguing that “fighting for Democracy is more important than having decorum.”