Police intervene as Trump congressman accused of clipboard assault
But Guy Gooder, a member of the Rotary club and organizer of the event, told The Charlotte Observer that Edwards went off script and used parts of his speech to defend Trump's tariffs and DOGE agenda. 'He spent 30 minutes basically insulting the rotarians' intelligence in his speech.' After leaving the stage and winding through the crowd, Edwards got in a heated discussion with an attendee before later smacking them with a clipboard, Gooder alleges.
The man said he heard the strike but did not see it as Edwards' body was blocking his view. Edwards, meanwhile, alleges that he was the victim of a belligerent rant from a drunken man. 'The rotarian basically said that was a load of BS,' Gooder said of the clash. 'Chuck [Edwards] stops and kind of bends over, kind of in-his-face type of stuff,' he added. Then, while the supposed heckler was still seated, Edwards 'hit the guy with his clipboard,' Gooder claimed.
The congressman's office released a statement on Sunday stating Edwards 'refused to engage with an intoxicated man that was cursing.' 'He became more belligerent and later called the police,' the statement continued. 'His behavior was embarrassing to the people at the event and was duly noted by the police. To my knowledge there was no further action taken by police.' The outburst is the second headline-grabbing incident the North Carolina lawmaker has had in recent months. In March, Edwards drew negative press for hosting a town hall that later descended into chaos as voters screamed and swore at the Republican.
The room steadily grew louder and the residents more unruly. Edwards struggled to keep control over the hundreds as he stood at the front of the room, stammering at times, listening to the cacophony of complaints. 'Bootlicker!' one attendee yelled at the March town hall. Another in the audience yelled out: 'What do you plan to do to make sure North Carolina does not get taken over by dictatorship and fascism?' Edwards had enough, admitting at one point: 'And you wonder why folks don't want to do these town halls.' 'I feel like this is not productive with everybody yelling at me,' he admitted.
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