An Oregon town hall meeting, hosted by Democratic U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, was cancelled Saturday after more than 100 “hands up, don’t shoot” protesters stormed the event.
The Portland Community College venue was scheduled to reward medals of heroism to 100-year-old World War II Navy veteran Dario Raschio.
From The Oregonian:
Wyden, D-Oregon, stepped away from the microphone as the protesters moved to the front of the meeting area and continued shouting and holding placards.Attendees of the event started to get frustrated. Some began confronting the protesters, urging them to stop.Wyden persuaded the protesters to be silent, briefly, promising he would allow them to air their concerns early in the event. They were silent as Wyden awarded medals for heroism during World War II to 100-year-old Navy veteran Dario Raschio. …
However, immediately following the award presentation, the chanting began again. Protesters stated it was “their town meeting” to which Wyden responded, “Yes, it’s your town meeting, but it’s theirs as well” as he gestured toward the audience.
Although the chanting protests were silenced for a few minutes during the medal ceremony, proceedings before and after proved so chaotic and disruptive that the event was eventually cancelled after only forty-five minutes in light of recurring threats of violence.
“I’ll break your jaw, old man!,” one protester told a senior security official.
Watch the video below, via BIZPAC Review, of protesters forcing their way inside.
Also from BIZPAC Review, is this video showing what happened AFTER the medal ceremony: