Multiple national media outlets pointed out last week that Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert’s oft-repeated story about why she carries a gun is a falsehood.

Boebert says she started packing heat on her hip after a man was beaten to death near her restaurant. In fact, he died of a drug overdose, as first reported by the Colorado Sun last year.

But this kind of story isn’t new. In fact, Boebert is obviously developing a track record of taking forays away from the truth.

Most of her fabrications appear to be concocted to hide politically damaging information. Others, which could be called Red Meat Whoppers, seem intended to please her right-wing fans across the country.

The Big Lie

For starters, she’s a leading proponent of the Big Lie, which is one of the easiest fibs to spot in U.S. history.

Turns Out She’s a QAnon Follower

Boebert has insisted she’s not a “follower of QAnon.” Yet, she followed multiple QAnon channels on her YouTube account, which she deleted as her beliefs about QAnon came under scrutiny by journalists.

She Was Opposed to Obamacare But Says She Wasn’t

Boebert now talks as if she might even be a supporter of Obamacare. But she secured her spot on the general election ballot by blasting her Republican opponent, U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton (R-CO), for failing to kill Obamacare–and she’s on record opposing it.

She’s Friendly With Militia Members She Claims Not To Know

Boebert claimed not to have connections to militia members photographed with her at a rally, but more photos emerged showing that she’d known some of them for years.

She Hadn’t Paid Off Debts, As Claimed

In July of last year, Boebert’s campaign told The Denver Post it was unaware of past-due liens, but records show that her business actually owed over $19,000 to the state of Colorado at the time. The debt was paid off in October of 2020, according to records obtained by Colorado Newsline.

She Spread Falsehoods About Black Lives Matter

Boebert claimed Black Lives Matter protesters were bussed to Rifle for a rally last year. But there’s no evidence for this.

She Exaggerated Her Work in Prisons

Just last week, Colorado Newsline revealed that Boebert’s claim, delivered multiple times on the campaign trail, to have volunteered for seven years at a jail is contradicted by logs at the jail, which show her visiting there only nine times over two-and-a-half years.

She Says Teenage Servers Don’t Carry Guns at Her Grill, But One Did

Boebert once said underage servers at her restaurant, Shooters Grill, are not allowed to carry guns. But one 17-year-old server featured in a news report posted on Boebert’s website says Boebert “allows me to” carry a gun, even though it’s illegal in Colorado to do so.

Food Poisoning Not Her Fault, She Falsely Claims

Instead of accepting responsibility for sickening 80 people with tainted sliders at the Rifle Rodeo, Boebert blamed the problem with her sliders on fecal matter allegedly found in the bleachers, even after Garfield County had conducted an exhaustive investigation showing that Boebert’s sliders were the “culprit.”

She Was Arrested for Not Showing Up to Court, Not For Ticket

Boebert talks as if she was arrested because she didn’t pay a ticket, but police arrested her for not appearing in court. So her failure to show up to court multiple times was the cause. “I didn’t pay the ticket. But I got it paid. One hundred dollars. And I even got a pretty mugshot out of it,” she said.

$22,000 Worth of Miles Whittled Down After Scrutiny

Boebert told a conservative radio host she “absolutely” had documentation to prove she was owed over $22,000 for driving over 38,000 miles during her election campaign. Two weeks later, her campaign reduced the number of miles driven by 7,000 and added expenses for hotels.

Some of Boebert’s critics laughed when I told them I was summarizing the congresswoman’s challenges with telling the truth, saying the list would be too long for one article.

That’s because Boebert isn’t shy about making extreme statements, but her challenges with telling the truth show that she often goes too far and cooks up a Red Meat Whopper that’s actually rotten.

Or she’s forced to walk back dubious claims that might damage her.

Either way, it’s a pattern that goes beyond this week’s falsehood about why she decided to carry a gun.