Barbara Lee claims White man at Capitol tried to block her from entering elevator, accused her of theft

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Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., claimed on Thursday that a racist White man at the Capitol once attempted to prevent her from entering the members' elevator and accused her of stealing her membership pin.

Lee, who is running for the U.S. Senate in California, was asked on CNN about Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley's assertion that the United States has "never been a racist country."

Lee rebuked Haley and said racism was embedded in the "DNA" of America. She then suggested that "personal racism" is also a problem that Haley doesn't understand, offering up a story to support her point.

While she did not specify a date or time, Lee alleged she was walking from the House Office Building to the Capitol Building when she was stopped by a White man, who told her she could not enter the members' elevator.

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"He blocked me from getting into the elevator and told me I was not a member of Congress and it was for members only. I said, 'Sir, I'm a member of Congress,' and I showed him my pin," she said.

Lee alleged the man then asked whose pin she had stolen.

"This is an example of what personal racism is and how people of color constantly have to deal with this each and every day," she told CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins, who appeared surprised by the story. "But systemic racism