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The screams of “January 6” and “Tax The Rich” flooded the town hall in Laramie, Wyoming on Wednesday. There, GOP MP Harriet Hageman faces an enemy crowd and tries to drown the noise and answer questions.
“I liked the opportunity to do town halls so I could come here and provide updates on what I’m doing in Washington, DC, and spurred a quick response from one guy, ‘nothing’.
“If you don’t really respect our process and what we are in this country,” Hageman began before being interrupted by some boos. “Then I’ll ask you to leave.”
Voters have recently expressed their frustration at several city halls across the country as they publicly utter their complaints about those in office. Members have criticised Republican Congressional members for President Donald Trump’s enforcement and Elon Musk’s efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency, but some Democrats face discontent and frustration that they are not fighting Trump.
Hageman tried to speak at one point about her efforts to reconfigure the federal government, telling members at her town hall on Wednesday: She was immediately interrupted with disapproval and a big boo jealousy.
“If you don’t settle down, you’ll have a heart attack,” Hageman told the crowd after repeated attempts to control.
Democrat Sean Kasten was interrupted several times by pro-Palestinian protesters at his own town hall in Downers Grove, Illinois on Wednesday night. He warned that people would “decid to not come to City Hall anymore because they are not productive.”
At one point, the man jumped onto the stage with Kasten, urging the MPs to the crowd to get off the stage and call the police.
“Sir, get off the stage! Get off the stage!” cried Kasten to the man.
In another example, a woman in the audience stood up and cried out to Kasten about how we would go to Israel to support us.
“Madam, can you sit down? Mama, mama, mama… what is your point in confusing this event? I recognized your face and you confused many events,” Kasten replied.
Police asked lawmakers to close the event and send everyone home after some intense exchanges.
Police end Democrats’ city hall after fiery conflict
City Hall on Wednesday night shows growing signs of anxiety and dissatisfaction from members around the country.
Georgia GOP Rep. Rich McCormick faced occasional boos from some harsh criticism and accidental conventions last month as he questioned the Trump administration’s early actions.
At one point at City Hall in February, McCormick was asked about the firing of hundreds of workers at the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“I’m in close contact with the CDC. They’re talking about the CDC’s 13,000 employees, 13,000 employees, and those in these trials, which have been around 1,300, which are about 10% of the employee base over the past few years.
The AI reference led to “no,” tweeting from the crowd, with a Republican representative saying, “I happen to be a doctor. I know a few things.”
GOP Councilman Cliff Benz faced a similar response from his constituents at the City Hall in La Grande, Oregon last month, where he was also asked about Doge. One member asked, “Who is paying for it, as Doge was created without Congress?”, leading to applause from the crowd.
“The Doge committee is filtered out as I understand it if it’s the right word or put into another agency, but we’re now considering it to find it. I don’t know the answer.”
Some of the harsh criticism and often angry remarks led to police actions. One man who identified himself as a veteran was escorted from the town hall in Asheville, North Carolina after protesting following comments about GOP Rep. Chuck Edwards’ vote to resolve the House budget.
Edwards followed CNN: “There were a lot of people out there that took me a while to ask the box they wanted to answer. It may be uncomfortable at times, but I think it’s part of the democratic process. I think we need a town hall.”
Other members of the Congress expressed more frustration about the issue. GOP Sen. Roger Marshall left Town Hall earlier this month in Oakley, Kansas.
The fear of angry protesters prevented them from becoming inaugurated before the profession. Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer has postponed planned book tour events in several cities citing security concerns after receiving a major backlash from his caucus and Democrat bases over his decision to move forward with a Republican-led fundraising bill last week.
A local chapter from Indivisible, a progressive group created in 2016 after Trump first took over the White House, was planning a protest over the book tour event.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
CNN’s Taylor Galgano and Martin Goillandeau contributed to this report.
