Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.) faced a wave of backlash from constituents while hosting a Thursday town hall in Asheville, which he hosted against the advice of party leaders. One attendee, who identified himself as a veteran, was removed from the event.
“He has nothing to say but lies, you’re lying,” the man shouted from his seat during Edwards’s remarks, according to video from CNN.
“I’m a veteran and you don’t give a f— about me,” he screamed before standing up and pointing at the second-term lawmaker, who represents the western corner of the state.
Edwards’s security detail approached the individual and asked him to calm down. Instead, the man became more irate and was escorted out by multiple Asheville Police officers.
He was just one of 2,000 residents who came to voice their concerns, with some focused on the House-passed continuing resolution (CR) that includes cuts to nondefense spending on health care and related research.
Many waited outside the community college auditorium, which only seats 360 people, to protest the planned mass firings at the Department of Veterans Affairs and closure of the Social Security Administration office in Franklin, N.C. The facility was listed on the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) website as a site that should be shut down in an effort to curb federal spending levels.
Earlier in the day at a town hall in Canton, N.C., Edwards was approached by another concerned citizen who was also warded off by local police.
“Congressman, thank you so much for bringing home these dollars but if you cut Medicaid and you knock 40 percent of our kids off Medicaid and you don’t bring dollars home to these schools, the county schools [will] have a shortfall,” Nate Roberto told Edwards, according to The Smoky Mountain News.
The North Carolina lawmaker reportedly walked away in search of an ice cream truck, which escalated the situation.
“If you can’t hold yourself responsible, then we’re going to come at you,” Roberto said while inching toward the podium where Edwards was standing, Smoky Mountain News reported. Canton Police officers escorted him away from the venue.
Edwards’s office did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.
The Asheville area was devastated in September by Hurricane Helene, with thousands of people displaced and businesses destroyed or temporarily closed.
Edwards joined President Trump on two visits to the area after the storm, most recently in January shortly after Trump’s inauguration.
Asheville’s proposed recovery plan was rejected by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) due to an included diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) program that conflicts with President Trump’s January executive order.
