Rep. Smith Statement on Protest at His Town Hall
SEATTLE, WA – Representative Adam Smith (D-Wash.) issued the following statement on the protest by a group of pro-Palestinian extremists at a town hall event hosted by his office over the weekend.
“Over the weekend, I attempted to hold a town hall in my district. Unfortunately, a group of Pro-Palestinian extremists took over the meeting, choosing to scream insults at me instead of engaging in an open dialogue. I tried multiple times to speak and even answer questions from this group only to be shouted down every time. I made the decision to stop the meeting and then stood on stage trying to listen to questions and concerns from my constituents in a one-on-one format. I got through a few, even as the shouted insults continued, but then a few of those disrupting the meeting got on stage and started shouting their insults directly in my face. It became impossible to conduct even one-on-one conversations and we ended the event.
“Sadly, this kind of effort to intimidate people has become all too common. Extremist groups on both the left and right side of the political spectrum use intimidation to silence opposing viewpoints and stifle debate. We saw this at the Capitol on January 6th and these intimidation tactics have been used at city council meetings across the country and at our town hall over the weekend.
“I want to be clear: the issues surrounding the war in Gaza and the enormous humanitarian crisis facing the people in Gaza are incredibly important issues. Many people concerned about the war attended the town hall to have an open, fair, and honest discussion. I spoke with several of these people on stage after the broader discussion was shut down. I have also met repeatedly with pro-Palestinian groups and other left-wing activists in the months since October 7th and I remain open to having these discussions and hearing directly from people who have tremendous and understandable passion about the issue.
“But the people who took over our town hall are not interested in having a discussion, or even expressing their opinions. Their goal is to silence and intimidate anyone who disagrees with their viewpoint, and they took away the chance for other town hall attendees to exercise their right to engage with their elected representative to Congress.
“We, as a society, cannot allow this to happen. We must combat extremism on both the left and right side of the political spectrum and fight to preserve our representative democracy. I will not be intimidated. I will continue to listen to my constituents and make sure that, one way or the other, I find forums to allow for open discussions about the issues we face.
“Many of the insults directed at me claimed that I should somehow be ashamed of my work as an elected official. Let me assure you, I am not. I am proud of the work my staff and I do. Representative democracy is not easy. I work tirelessly to give people the chance to express their opinions, and then do my best to make the decisions I think are best for our district, our country, and our world.
“Thank you to the people who attended the town hall in the true spirit of representative democracy. I look forward to continuing to work with you all to address the many very difficult challenges we face as a society.”
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