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Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Yet Another GOP Town Hall Descends Into Chaos as Constituents Revolt
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) faced angry attendees at his town hall in the Hudson Valley on Sunday. About 600 constituents bombarded him with questions and jeers while more protested outside, and multiple attendees were asked to leave or forcibly removed from the venue. Lawler, one of many Republicans to be met with hostile town hall crowds as President Donald Trump and Elon Musk have dismantled the federal government, represents a swing district that will be contested in 2026. Republican lawmakers across the country have been met with jeers and heckling at public events since Trump took office. In March, party leadership leadership told House representatives to avoid in-person town halls entirely. Just over a month later, a man was tased at a highly contentious town hall hosted by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green (R-Ga.). Republicans are under scrutiny as polling has shown that Trump is increasingly unpopular, as are Musk's actions as the head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. Two recent polls found that Trump's approval rating has plummeted to below 40 percent, and some conservatives are starting to worry about the 2026 midterms. Attendees at the Kennedy Catholic Preparatory School in Somers, New York, asked Lawler about massive cuts to the federal government carried out by Trump and Musk, as well the president's tariff and immigration policies. Lawler said he planned to meet with DOGE on Monday, to which the audience jeered. 'Bipartisan sounds nice, but meaningful bipartisanship is in votes taken, not in the fig-leaf of co-sponsored bills,' Cortlandt Manor resident David Weinberger said at the event. 'Now is your time to stand up to the authoritarian Trump regime.' 'Bipartisanship is a two-way street,' Lawler said. 'It's not just Republicans acquiescing Democrats. There has to be a give-and-take on these issues.' Emily Feiner of Nyack was forcibly removed by New York State Police. 'I'm not leaving,' she said. 'You are taking on an old Jewish woman.' A police officer lifted her out of her seat by her armpits. She held up peace signs as two police officers carried her away. The audience chanted 'Let her stay!' and 'Shame! Shame! Shame!' and stood up and booed as she was removed. 'The attendee was asked to leave after repeatedly engaging in abusive and combative behavior with staff, and disrupting nearby attendees,' Lawler spokesperson Ciro Riccardi told The Hill. 'She was escorted from the auditorium when she continually refused to comply with New York State Troopers.' 'I got called on. I asked a question. The question was: 'What was his red line? What would it take in terms of unconstitutional actions that the Trump administration was doing for him to finally exercise his oversight role and call for an end?'' Feiner told Salon. 'And he didn't answer my question. He talked about appropriations. So I was frustrated, and I did call out, 'Answer my question, answer my question.' And then the next person, he didn't answer their question either.' Jennifer Cabrera, chair of the Westchester-Putnam Working Families Party, filmed Feiner's removal. She was also asked to leave, according to the Working Families Party. Video shows a second person being carried out as well. Unsurprisingly, the town hall did not garner constituents' support. 'I have no hopes for this guy,' retiree Jeanette Spoor said of Lawler, according to the Associated Press. She had wanted to ask the lawmaker about the future of Social Security and Medicaid but had not had the chance to. About 80 people, led by Rockland County Legislator Beth Davidson and Christine Robbins, chair of the Somers Democratic Party, protested outside of the school, holding up signs that read 'Lawler Lies, Democracy Dies' and 'A Trumpster Fire.' Lawler was met with a disruptive crowd of about 700 people in late April in Clarkstown, New York. That time, constituents laughed at him when he said the country is 'strong' and 'united,' and several people were reportedly forced to leave. Lawler has not decided whether he will run again next year. Republican leaders have been trying to convince him not to run for governor, NBC News reported, because they want him to try to hold on to his swing district. 'I would prefer he not run for governor,' Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, told NBC News. Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) is also considering running for governor. 'As I have said throughout this process, I will make my decision as to whether to run for governor in June,' Lawler told NBC News. 'That decision, which will be based on a number of factors and considerations, will be mine alone to make and will not be impacted by the decisions or desires of any of my colleagues.' Trump is well aware that Republicans are having a hard time at town halls because of his policies. He posted on Truth Social that 'disruptors' at these events should be removed. 'These Great Patriot Politicians should not treat them nicely. Have them immediately ejected from the room – They are disruptors and troublemakers,' the president wrote. More from Rolling Stone Russia Is Growing Stronger, But Victory in Ukraine Remains Elusive Jon Voight Reportedly Gave Trump the Idea for Those Wild Movie Tariffs Trump Keeps Insisting Kids Can Cut Back on Toys in Response to Tariffs Best of Rolling Stone The Useful Idiots New Guide to the Most Stoned Moments of the 2020 Presidential Campaign Anatomy of a Fake News Scandal The Radical Crusade of Mike Pence
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
"No doubt in my mind": Woman booted from GOP town hall believes she was targeted "to chill dissent"
Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., a self-proclaimed moderate who won a swing district in 2024, had a 64-year-old social worker carried out of a town hall Sunday night, with the woman telling Salon that she believes she was targeted in an effort to chill dissent. Lawler received an icy reception at his latest town hall, much like the one he received at a public event held the previous week. While many Republicans have decided to evade their constituents by not holding town halls, Lawler has chosen a different route. The congressman, who is having conversations about a run for New York governor, per The Hill, has been hosting town halls where constituents are made to jump through hoops to prove they live in the district and verbally pledge to agree to follow a list of rules at the venue door. He's also enlisted local police, state troopers and private security for the events. Despite this, Emily Feiner, the 64-year-old social worker, told Salon that she was carried out of the room by police after demanding that the congressman answer the question that she asked him. The incident took place at the Kennedy Catholic Preparatory School in Somers, New York. 'I got called on. I asked a question. The question was: 'What was his red line? What would it take in terms of unconstitutional actions that the Trump administration was doing for him to finally exercise his oversight role and call for an end?'' Feiner said in an interview. 'And he didn't answer my question. He talked about appropriations. So I was frustrated, and I did call out, 'Answer my question, answer my question.' And then the next person, he didn't answer their question either.' Feiner said that she was then approached by a member of Lawler's staff, who told her: 'You've been warned twice, you're coming out now.' Feiner said that she had been targeted since she arrived at the venue, saying that Lawler's staff 'immediately zeroed in on me' despite the fact that 'my behavior was no different than 80% of the behavior in that room.' She said that she thinks she was targeted because she has been to protests outside of Lawler's office and has been critical of the congressman online. Lawler's office did not respond to a request for comment. In a widely circulated video of the incident, Lawler's staff are seen attempting to remove Feiner, who responds by saying, 'I'm not leaving.' His staff then repeatedly asked Jennifer Cabrera, who was filming a video of the staff's behavior at the public event, to stop recording. Cabrera serves as the chair of the Westchester-Putnam Working Families Party. The video then shows the crowd cheering 'Let her stay,' as police pick Feiner up out of her chair and carry her out of the room. Throughout the whole video, Lawler is being booed by the crowd for dodging his constituents' questions. In another video, another attendee is seen chanting, in apparent reference to Feiner, 'beat them up, put them in jail, kill 'em' and 'jail her.' Feiner said, of the incident with police, that 'none of that is really important to me.' 'What is much more important to me is that they are pursuing a playbook that is reminiscent of Germany in the 1930s — that this is what they do with dissent; that they have no problem carrying a 64-year-old woman out of a town hall that was being held by my publicly elected congressional representative,' she said. 'There's no doubt in my mind this is meant to try to chill dissent.'
USA Today
05-05-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
GOP Rep. Mike Lawler faces another rowdy town hall as police carry away audience member
GOP Rep. Mike Lawler faces another rowdy town hall as police carry away audience member New York Republican Mike Lawler faced a rowdy town hall as attendees broke out into boos and a constituent was forcibly removed by police. Show Caption Hide Caption See woman removed from Mike Lawler town hall by police in Somers NY U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler faced a mostly hostile crowd during his second town hall event Sunday night. His second town hall was held in Somers, N.Y. WASHINGTON − Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., faced another hostile crowd at a town hall as attendees broke out into boos and jeers and a constituent was forcibly removed by police. The swing district congressman was pressed on May 4 over President Donald Trump's tariffs, deportations, spending cuts and other issues as he addressed 600 people at the Kennedy Catholic Preparatory School in Somers, New York, The Journal News reported. More: Woman dragged out of Idaho town hall asks for $5 million in damages, 6 men charged At one point during the town hall, police surrounded a woman in the crowd and she told them, 'I'm not leaving,' according to footage from ABC News. People around her began chanting, 'Let her stay!' and she was eventually carried out of the event by police. It was not clear why she was removed. During the event, Lawler defended his record, claiming that he's willing to work across the aisle to get bills passed. 'Bipartisan sounds nice, but meaningful bipartisanship is in votes taken, not in the fig-leaf of co-sponsored bills,' one attendee told Lawler. 'Now is your time to stand up to the authoritarian Trump regime.' The Associated Press reported that the crowd walked out of the town hall when the final question was asked on protests against Israel. More: Anger erupts at Republican lawmakers' town halls amid tariff and DOGE drama '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,' Lawler said, according to AP. More: New York Republican Mike Lawler faces jeers and boos at town hall Just last week, Lawler faced a fired-up town hall at Clarkstown South High School in West Nyack, New York. He is one of the many Republicans who have been greeted by angry constituents at these events in recent weeks amid thousands of federal layoffs, stock market volatility over tariffs and mass deportations. Contributing: David McKay Wilson, Rockland/Westchester Journal News
