Police arrested and stun-gunned several protesters at a town hall in Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's Georgia district on Tuesday, the latest — and most extreme — example of such an event devolving into chaos in recent weeks.
Greene, a Republican and staunch supporter of President Trump, was interrupted multiple times as she addressed constituents at a community center in Acworth, Ga. on Tuesday night, speaking about Trump's agenda, playing clips from Congressional hearings and answering pre-selected audience questions.
Starting just seconds into her remarks, and every few minutes over the next hour, some half a dozen attendees either waved signs or shouted interruptions. It is not clear what each of them said, though one chanted "Free Kilmar" — an apparent reference to the Maryland man mistakenly sent to an El Salvador prison — while others called Greene a "terrorist" and yelled expletives at her.
All were quickly escorted out of the room by multiple police officers as the crowd cheered and Greene waved — and in some cases — shouted goodbye. She also referenced the protest under way on the street outside, which the Associated Press reports attracted some 100 people: "Protest is outside … Have fun out there!"
"This is a town hall, this is not a political rally, this is not a protest," Greene said over applause after the first person was removed from the room. "If you want to shout and chant, we will have you removed just like that man was thrown out. We will not tolerate it."
The Acworth Police Department said in a statement that approximately six attendees were escorted from the premises without issue, and three people were arrested.
Police said they had planned for such disruptions after discovering online posts that suggested "the potential for disruptive behavior" at the town hall. They said Greene's staff also pre-screened attendees to confirm that they lived in her district, but that one of the people arrested did not.
Two men, ages 40 and 45, were arrested for battery and obstruction of a law enforcement officer, while a 28-year-old woman was arrested for vulgar language in violation of a city ordinance. Police said two of the people arrested were also stunned with Tasers because officers were "threatened, physically resisted, and harmed in the process."
A video of one of those incidents shows a man trying to shove several officers off of him as they walk him away from the seats. A brief scuffle ensues in which at least four officers try to hold him back, but he breaks free and seems to be walking out the door when one of the officers fires a Taser. The man can be seen lying in the doorway as the crowd applauds.
In their statement, police accused the individuals of creating an "imminent public safety threat for all in attendance" and putting "members of our beloved police department in a no-win situation in front of numerous media outlets."
"It is disappointing that a very small number of people actively worked to create a temporary disruption to what was otherwise a completely peaceful event," the department said.
Greene later said police had "conducted themselves in textbook fashion" and praised them for removing the protesters, saying "that's exactly what I wanted to happen."
"How people should handle their business is in the voting booth," Greene told reporters. "There's no reason for screaming, yelling, ridiculous outrageous protesting — that disrupts the entire event for every single person that is there."
Greene accused the protesters of being funded by Democrats, but also acknowledged that Democrats have been targeted too, referencing the arson attack on Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro's residence over the weekend.
"It shouldn't be this way for any elected leader, no matter what political party they represent," Greene added.
It wasn't the only contentious town hall that night
Greene wasn't the only lawmaker who got heckled at their town hall in the past two days.
Also on Tuesday, Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley was grilled by a room full of constituents frustrated that he is not doing more to stand up to Trump.
At the Fort Madison event — a stop on Grassley's 45th annual 99-county tour of Iowa — multiple people pressed the senator about topics including tariffs and immigration enforcement, particularly the Trump administration's refusal to facilitate the return of mistakenly deported Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, as ordered by the Supreme Court.
As Grassley tried to defend his position, members of the audience grew increasingly angry in their questions.
"Why won't you do your job, senator?" one man asked, as many people in the room clapped.
Grassley stood silently as another attendee in the front row reminded him of his constitutional oath of office, reading it out loud from a scrap of paper and asking if he was still acting upon it.
Grassley said he is "trying to recapture the constitutional authority" to regulate interstate foreign commerce by introducing a bill that he said would fix "some of the mistakes that Democratic Congress has made in 1963" — prompting loud groans and shouts of "no" from listeners.
Also on Tuesday, Republican Rep. Brian Mast was booed by attendees at a town hall in Jupiter, Fla., according to social media footage. WPTV News also posted a video of a man who it said was escorted out of the event.
It's not only Republicans who are getting pushback from their home districts.
Rep. Laura Friedman, a California Democrat, was repeatedly interrupted by frustrated constituents during a Monday town hall in Los Angeles. The Daily Beast reports that hecklers accused her of not doing enough to confront Trump, with one yelling, "I don't believe that you have pushed hard enough."
"I am doing literally everything that I know how and that I think will actually make a difference," Friedman responded.
Recent weeks have seen a number of lawmakers confronted by angry constituents at town halls from Nebraska to North Carolina — where the scene got so tense that Republican Rep. Chuck Edwards had to be escorted out by security.
Some Republicans are turning away from in-person town halls
Some Republicans have turned to virtual town halls — or paused them altogether — as their constituents grow increasingly frustrated with the Trump administration's actions and politicians' responses.
In early March, after several especially heated events — including those of Texas Rep. Keith Self and Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall, both Republicans — Trump publicly accused "paid 'troublemakers' " of attending Republican town halls.
Shortly after, multiple media outlets reported that Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C. — the chair of the House Republicans' campaign arm — told Republicans to stop holding in-person town halls because they were turning into such spectacles, a directive that House Speaker Mike Johnson has publicly echoed.
"They're professional protesters," Johnson told reporters that same week. "So why would we give them a forum to do that right now?"
He also said, "We've seen this movie before," an apparent reference to a similar trend of angry constituents confronting Republicans at town halls nationwide in 2017, during Trump's first term.
Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin is one of the lawmakers who have canceled in-person town halls in recent weeks. In late March, community members asked questions of an empty chair after he declined their invitation. Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado held a town hall by telephone around the same time, calling it a convenient way to reach more people.
"For me personally, it's not safe to do an in-person town hall," she told member station CPR News afterward. "I'm happy to do tele-town halls."
Democrats appear eager to fill the void by increasing their number of town halls and specifically targeting Republican-held districts. The party posted on Facebook last week that Democrats have held 71 town halls in 35 states in three weeks as part of what it is calling a "nationwide blitz."
"Here's the bottom line: If Republicans won't meet their constituents, Democrats will," it added.
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