During a Massachusetts Republican State Committee meeting this Wednesday, tensions boiled over between conservative and moderate party members, NBC Boston reports.
The conflict was over GOP State Committeewoman Deborah Martell's email to other Republicans condemning gay congressional candidate Jeffrey Sossa-Paquette. Martell said she was "sickened" that Sossa-Paquette had adopted two children with his husband.
Supporters of Sossa-Paquette clashed with members of their own party outside the state committee meeting. "You're a bigot," yelled Abington selectman Alex Hagerty during a confrontation with Republican commentator Dianna Ploss.
"Our Republican Party is in shambles right now," Republican Arete Pascucci told NBC Boston. "It's beyond talking about."
"What [Martell] said reinforces every negative stereotype about Republicans, that we're backwards, we're intolerant, we don't accept people of other persuasions," said Tom Mountain, vice chair of the Massachusetts GOP.
"Those are her rights to be able to speak her opinion, it's protected. It doesn't mean that we have to agree with it," said Rayla Campbell, a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor.
"We are all entitled to our free speech," said Sossa-Paquette. "What we're not entitled to is to take those free speech and then weaponize it to seek harm."
Some accused Gov. Charlie Baker of taking the party too far to the left, but Pascucci disagreed.
"He's the number one governor in the country, and he's a Republican. Why wouldn't we be standing behind our governor?" asked Pascucci.
Watch a report on the story below:
