Nearly 100 protesters gathered outside a town hall for Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) on Saturday, chanting “let us in.”
At one point during the meeting, Waters led supporters inside the meeting in chanting “Impeach 45” against a lone female protester who was holding a sign that read, “Impeach Mad Max.”
According to the Los Angeles Times. Waters’s chant against the woman lasted four minutes. Waters later chanted the phrase, “Stay woke.”
Protesters outside could be heard chanting “let us in” in one video taken outside the event. Many event ticket holders were told that they could not gain access if they did not reside within the distric,t as demand for the event was so great. District residents were given priority, according to a notice one protester produced.
A police presence was visible outside the event, as seen in the video. Protesters carried American flags and some brandished Trump campaign regalia, from MAGA hats to signs and flags.
As the event commenced, Waters’s voice could be heard through speakers projected outside for the overflow crowd to hear. The video shows chants of “kick her out.”
One critic, a woman Chanell Temple, spoke of troubles finding work after losing her job, attributing some of her struggle in finding work to not being able to speak Spanish, according to the Times.
Temple made national news in August 2015 when she spoke out at a Huntington Park City Council meeting where she and others challenged the appointment of two illegal aliens to city commissions. Video of her comments went viral. She identified herself as someone raised in the Huntington Park area. During the meeting, she attested to inequality between the treatment of her black community as compared to treatment of illegal aliens.
In the video, audio of Waters can be heard through protesters as she said, “This administration, we’re going to embarrass them, we’re going to leverage everything that we have.”
The Times reported that Waters’s message revolved around the Senate GOP health care bill. She also specifically criticized members of President Donald Trump’s cabinet, including Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson. Waters went so far as to slam Carson, vowing that she would “take him apart” in front of the House Financial Services Committee.
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