\n<\/p>\n
A town hall for Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia outside of Atlanta on Tuesday quickly deteriorated into chaos, as police officers forcibly removed several protesters.<\/p>\n
Ms. Greene, a Republican firebrand and loyal ally of President Trump, had barely reached the podium to speak when a man in the crowd at the Acworth Community Center stood up and started yelling, booing and jeering at her. As her supporters stood and clapped, several police officers grabbed the man, later identified by the police as Andrew Russell Nelms of Atlanta, and dragged him out of the room.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t breathe!\u201d Mr. Nelms shouted, interjecting with expletives as he was told to put his arms behind his back. The police then used a stun gun on him twice.<\/p>\n
Back inside the room, Ms. Greene was unfazed as she greeted attendees at the event, in Acworth, Ga., northwest of Atlanta. She thanked the officers, drawing applause from the crowd of about 150 people.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cIf you want to shout and chant, we will have you removed just like that man was thrown out,\u201d she said. \u201cWe will not tolerate it!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Minutes later, as Ms. Greene started to play a video of former President Barack Obama discussing the national debt, police forcibly removed and used a stun gun on a second man, identified later as Johnny Keith Williams of Dallas, Ga., who had stood up and started to heckle.<\/p>\n
Over the next hour, as Ms. Greene trumpeted the efforts of the Department of Government Efficiency to shrink the government and played clips of herself railing against witnesses in committee hearings, police officers escorted at least six people from the room, according to a spokesman for the Acworth Police Department. Three people, including the two who were subdued with stun guns, were arrested.<\/p>\n
In between disruptions at the event, Ms. Greene applauded the Trump administration\u2019s deportation efforts and praised Congress for passing the Laken Riley Act, a measure that requires the detention of undocumented immigrants accused of certain crimes. Ms. Greene crowed about the DOGE team\u2019s push to shutter the U.S. Agency for International Development. Instead of taking questions directly from the audience, she read and answered prescreened questions from a slide deck.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cWhy is M.T.G. supporting Musk and DOGE and the slashing of Medicaid, Social Security offices, libraries and more?\u201d read one question from a person identified only as Sarah. \u201cThis is outrageous.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, Sarah, unfortunately, you\u2019re being brainwashed by the news that you\u2019re watching,\u201d Ms. Greene replied, to whoops and cheers from the crowd.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Mike Binns, a constituent who was escorted from the room after he yelled at Ms. Greene, said the event felt more like a \u201cpolitical rally\u201d than a town hall.<\/p>\n
Outside, several hundred protesters lined the street, waving signs that bore phrases such as \u201cPro America, Anti Trump\u201d and \u201cResist!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Asked if she thought using stun guns on protesters at the event was an appropriate response, Ms. Greene reiterated her praise for the law enforcement officials.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know who was out of line? The protesters,\u201d Ms. Greene said. \u201cThere was a place designated outside for the protesters because we support their First Amendment rights.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sean Keenan contributed reporting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n