Daniel Boman, a Republican candidate for Congress in Alabama’s 5th District, was suspended from practicing law because of racist and misogynistic language he used during a phone call threatening a lawsuit against an appliance company in 2017.

A report from the Alabama State Bar describes the findings against Boman that led to a two-year suspension from practicing law in 2019. The penalty is part of a longer disbarment period that is also related to an alleged theft from an estate. Boman has pleaded not guilty to first-degree theft in a criminal case. He said he will be eligible to reapply for his law license in January 2025.

Boman, 49, qualified with the Alabama Republican party to challenge U.S. Rep. Dale Strong, R-Huntsville, in the March 5 primary. They are the only two candidates who qualified.

Boman’s abusive language was captured in a phone call recorded by Samsung during a dispute over a repair visit to Boman’s home in December 2017. On the call, Boman identified himself as an attorney and said he intended to sue Samsung for the work time he said he lost while waiting on a tech to repair his washing machine after a product recall.

Boman first spoke with an African American, then was transferred to a female customer service representative.

Boman called the woman a “f…… b…..” and said she “was about as much help as that f…… n….. that I spoke with.”

“I will shoot you in the f…… head,” Boman told the female customer service rep.

The recorded phone call came to light after Boman sued Samsung in small claims court in Marion County in 2018.

After a hearing, the Disciplinary Board of the Alabama State Bar found in October 2019 that Boman violated Alabama Rules of Professional Conduct.

“The board determined that Boman’s use of racist, misogynistic, and threatening language toward the Samsung customer service representation was prejudicial to the administration of justice and adversely reflected on Boman’s fitness to practice law,” the order says. “Boman clearly engaged in the misconduct while holding himself out as a lawyer licensed to practice law in the state of Alabama. Moreover, during the hearing, Boman admitted that he intended to offend the customer service representative with his language and threats.”

Boman, asked about the incident on Monday, said he lost his temper and deeply regrets the language he used.

“I think there’s times when we get so mad, so angry, we don’t actually realize the impact of what we’re saying,” Boman said. “It just makes us feel better. Or at least we think it’s going to make us feel better to get that anger out.”

Boman said the incident and the consequences caused him to think hard about himself and become a more emotionally stable person.

“I had to realize that I wasn’t who I thought I was.” Boman said. “I had to realize I wasn’t as big or as important as I thought I was. I had to realize that I didn’t matter like I thought I did.

“So, I was humbled. Of all the things I have done in political or legal world, or just my personal life, that would be a top five thing that I wish I could undo. But unfortunately in life, there are no mulligans.”

Boman said he accepts the blame for what happened but said the words he used do not reflect his attitudes toward Black people or women.

“There is no way anybody that knows me could ever draw a conclusion that I’m racist, sexist, or misogynist,” Boman said. “It’s just not possible. But for that one moment in time, those were the words that I chose to use. And I can give you every excuse in the world. But that is just what it would be. It would be an excuse.

“There is no excuse for that. Very embarrassing low moment of my life. And I would say that realistically, probably about beginning in 2018, when I started doing the internal evaluation of who I was, what my foundation was, what my character was, those are things that I don’t mind telling you I went and talked to people about. I wanted to get those emotions out of me. I didn’t ever want to have a thing like that happen again.

“For a grown man, I finally have learned to stay cool, stay calm. Even when somebody provokes me, or things don’t go as expected. Or maybe they lie, or whatever it is. It is simply out of my control other than how I react to it. And it’s taken a long time to get here. But I’m here.”

Boman said he will be eligible to reapply for his law license in January 2025.

Boman was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in 2010 as a Republican. He switched parties in 2011 and lost his reelection bid after his district was redrawn. In 2012, Boman was the Democratic nominee for Congress in the 4th District and lost to the incumbent, U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-Haleyville.

Boman caused controversy during that 2012 campaign when he implied Aderholt was gay by posting a hypothetical question on Facebook, although he did not use Aderholt’s name. Boman said on Friday that was a mistake and that he later apologized to Adherholt’s staff.

Boman said he understands that as a political candidate, he has to answer questions about poor decisions, including things he said years ago.

“Words have consequences,” Boman said. “Big-time consequences. And I’m living proof of that. And all you can do is just know that everybody deserves respect. Everybody has dignity. And whether you agree with who they are or their point of view of their opinion, you still need to respect that. It doesn’t mean you have to accept it. It doesn’t mean you have to change your mind or your opinion. But everybody living and walking, breathing, past or present, they deserve to be respected. And they deserve to be talked to with some sort of dignity. And it took me years to learn that. But I learned it.”