{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://hageman.house.gov/media/press-releases/hageman-plans-future-events-be-held-virtually-because-democrat-threats-0", "Hageman Plans Future Events to Be Held Virtually Because of Democrat Threats of Violence", "2025-03-25", "2025", "2025-03", "Republican", "House", "WY", "Harriet M. Hageman", "H001096", "hageman.house.gov", "hageman", "https://hageman.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Congresswoman Harriet Hageman (R-WY) today announced her office is changing the way town hall meetings with constituents are conducted, at least in the short-term, based on recent incidents at public events, credible threats to Hageman, and the related national outbursts of politically motivated violence and attempts at intimidation. Until now, Hageman has held town hall meetings in person in public venues, but that will shift to tele-town halls or virtual settings until it is safer for all Wyomingites. Hageman had previously announced town hall meetings on March 28 in Cheyenne and March 29 in Torrington, both will now be held via tele town hall at the same date and times as previously announced. Laramie County residents may sign up here and Goshen County residents may sign up here.\n\nSince running for Congress in 2022, Hageman has held 75 in-person town halls, with at least three occurring in each of Wyoming\u2019s 23 counties. Over that time, 73 of those meetings have occurred without incident, even though there has been spirited discussion with constituents at each one. In the past week, however, one town hall erupted in chaos fomented by activists, resulting in tense confrontations that threatened to spiral out of control.\n\nAt a town hall in Laramie on March 19, hundreds of protestors organized by the local Albany County Democratic Party and national influencers made such consistent and sustained disruptions that \u201cshouts, boos and explicit language filled the theater,\u201d according to local news coverage.\n\nBecause of the events in Laramie, more than 20 officers from multiple agencies were assigned to keep the peace at a town hall in Wheatland the next day on March 20. Despite the law enforcement presence, an attendee followed Hageman leaving the venue and initiated a physical confrontation with staff, into which local police were forced to intervene. Hageman also reported that staff in her Washington, D.C. and Wyoming offices have received numerous, credible threatening phone calls and emails, currently being investigated by multiple law enforcement agencies.\n\n\u201cI thank our wonderful law enforcement community for their willingness to support the public and myself while participating in our government process. It has become apparent, however, that the continuation of in-person town halls will be a drain on our local resources due to safety concerns for attendees,\u201d said Hageman.\n\nWhile the organized protests in Wyoming are jeopardizing the safety of members of the community, national Democratic Party leaders continue to encourage public eruptions and interruptions of what can be described as civil unrest, at best, or domestic terrorism, at worst.\n\nThe Democratic Minority Leader in the Senate, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), has not been subtle about the party\u2019s plans to try to use public events as forums for intimidation.\n\n\u201cWe have people going into Republican districts and going after these Republicans who are voting for [the Trump agenda],\u201d he said on PBS Newshour. \u201cAnd forcing them to either change their vote or face the consequences.\u201d\n\nThere have been many documented incidents of politically motivated firebombing or other vandalism at Tesla dealerships, both in the U.S. and in other countries. Also, disturbingly, there has been a dramatic increase in incidents of \u201cswatting\u201d aimed at conservative media figures or notable Republicans. Swatting is the terroristic practice of calling in false police reports of a domestic hostage situation, a potential murder-suicide crisis, or other public safety emergencies, in order to draw an armed law enforcement response to an otherwise peaceful and unsuspecting residence. In such swatting situations, the potential for gunfire and harm to innocent citizens or law enforcement officers is extremely high. An incident at Hageman\u2019s Cheyenne home in the last week confirms that she is the target of this national trend.\n\nHageman further explained why she is making changes to the town hall format.\n\n\u201cAs the saying goes, \u2018This is why we can\u2019t have nice things,\u2019\u201d said Hageman. \u201cI am proud of my record of holding dozens and dozens of town halls \u2013 75 of them in just three years, at least three times in each of Wyoming\u2019s 23 counties. And the only times we have had any problems with safety have been at two of the six held in the last week.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s no secret that I am willing to engage with citizens on any topic, in any place. But I draw the line when organized protestors intentionally create confrontation and chaos, escalating tensions to a point where violence seems inevitable,\u201d Hageman continued. \u201cIt\u2019s not safe for the peaceful citizens who want to come out to speak to their elected representative face to face. It\u2019s not safe for attendees, it\u2019s not safe for law enforcement, and it doesn\u2019t do anything to encourage a meaningful dialogue at all.\u201d\n\n\u201cFor the time being, our town halls will be conducted in a safe virtual environment or in a tele-town hall format, until such time as it seems safe to resume in-person events,\u201d Hageman concluded. \u201cAnd because of that, I am formally calling on Sen. Schumer and his leadership counterpart in the House, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, to denounce their party\u2019s organized disruptors and crime. A failure to do so will only further confirm that the left\u2019s radical tactics are no longer on the fringe but the mainstay of the Democratic party and prove once again their disdain for the First Amendment and legitimate political discourse. It is time for them to demand that their partisans stop threatening and intimidating people and causing actual violence before someone gets seriously injured or killed.\u201d\n\n###\n\nContact: Esteban Elizondo, Communications Director", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T00:15:27Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://hageman.house.gov/media/press-releases/hageman-plans-future-events-be-held-virtually-because-democrat-threats-0"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9119692258536816, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}