June 22, 2009: Town Hall Health Care Meeting Disrupted by Angry Protesters; Representative Needs Police Escort to Leave Safely

Representative Tim Bishop (D-NY) holds a “town hall” meeting in Setauket, New York, to attempt to discuss the White House’s health care reform package. However, the town hall is disrupted by a large number of angrily shouting conservatives, there to protest the reform proposals. The protesters hound Bishop throughout the meeting, shouting him down when he attempts to speak, and accusing him of “selling out” the country through his positions on the White House’s energy, economic, and health care policies. The mob becomes so threatening that five police officers are forced to escort Bishop to his car for his own safety. In part because of the incident, Bishop will suspend further town hall meetings until August 2009. Bishop has held over 100 such meetings since his election to Congress in 2002. [Politico, 7/31/2009; MSNBC, 8/4/2009]