A town hall meeting in New York City descended into a chaotic spectacle after an elderly constituent was forcefully carried out “like a piece of luggage.” The incident took place on Sunday, May 4.
The woman, identified as Emily Feiner, is a social worker. She was among the large crowd of attendees in the town hall in Somers, NYC, hosted by Republican Rep. Mike Lawler from New York’s 17th Congressional District. During the meeting, many attendees questioned the congressman about Donald Trump’s tariffs, causing tension.
The victim, Feiner, also reportedly attempted to participate in the Q&A session with the congressman. However, her questions were not well received, and instead, she was singled out and ordered to leave the premises.
From the video posted on Reddit, Feiner was seen sitting calmly in her seat as law enforcement officers began to surround her. The officers repeatedly asked her to leave, but she shook her head, saying, “I’m not leaving. You are taking on an old Jewish woman. I’m not leaving.”
When the interaction began to draw the attention of other members in the audience, they began to protest, chanting, “Let her stay, let her stay!” The attendees sitting beside Feiner also tried to reason with the officers, saying that what they were doing was “ridiculous.” However, they wouldn’t listen to reason.
Eventually, the law enforcement officers resorted to carrying Feiner from her seat, presumably at the instruction of the congressman. Two officers grabbed her legs while three others held on to her arms. Feiner was “violently ripped from her seat, manhandled, and physically carried out of the venue by several men like a piece of luggage,” the video’s caption read.
While the victim was being carried out, the crowd further protested, booing the congressman and the officers. One audience member was heard calling the action “anti-democratic.”
Despite the obvious resistance from the audience, a speaker urged the crowd to settle down and return to their seats, saying, “We have a lot of questions to get through; the congressman is giving you his time.” In response, the crowd yelled, “Shame on you!”
Social media users reacted to the incident, calling out the congressman’s condescending actions. “‘The congressman is giving you his time.’ Condescending much? She did it right. She became passively ungovernable without being violent. Way to go Emily,” one Redditor praised.
“Absolutely f*cking disgusting, 5+ Nazi pigs drag out an old woman standing up to f*cking nazi supporters. F*ck all those douchebags,” another user responded.
One individual commented, “Ahh yes, the land of the free. What did MAGA say? We will defend free speech? Hahaha idiots.” Another user lamented, “We as a society have failed to remind these politicians that they work for us.”
So far, the congressman has not come forward to speak on the incident.
