Congressman Mike Lawler (R-NY) faced the latest chaotic town hall as his meeting with constituents Sunday descended into chaos, according to an Associated Press report.
“The first crack emerged when Lawler, in his opening remarks, told the packed out prep school auditorium, ‘This is what democracy looks like,” AP wrote.
“Laughter crept through the crowd.”
As Lawler was attempting to talk about tariffs, security and law enforcement officials began to surround a woman in the upper stretch of the auditorium, according to the report.
The crowd chanted “let her stay, let her stay” before she was physically picked up and carried out.
It's not clear what led to her removal, but the audience swiftly responded, yelling “Shame! Shame! Shame!”
AP noted that Lawler attempted to rally the crowd back to his message by saying, “Folks, tariffs are way more complicated than you want to make them.”
To which the crowd groaned.
“Folks, enough!,” Lawler said.
AP spoke to several audience members, including Jeanette Spoor, a 74-year-old retiree who "said she wanted to ask Lawler about the future of Social Security and Medicaid, but wasn’t called on during the nearly two-hour event.”
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“You’re not helping your constituents if you’re making it hard for them to get help,” she told the outlet. “I have no hopes for this guy.”
Another attendee, Kristi Thompson, 52, told the outlet she was bothered by what she called “Lawler’s long-winded answers” which, she said, didn’t address the substance of the crowd’s questions. “He claims to be available to constituents, but he isn’t,” she said.
The last question of the night was about the war between Israel and Gaza, but as Lawler began to answer, the crowd emptied out.
He stopped and ended the evening with his dwindling audience. “I appreciate everybody coming out tonight and taking the time to ask your questions and hear my answers, whether you liked them or not, or agreed with them or not, or whether you really actually wanted to listen to them or not, but I very much appreciate you participating," he said.
