Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) held a town hall in Georgia on Wednesday as she came under fire for reportedly indicating support for violence against prominent Democrats in old social media posts, and after an old video of her confronting Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg went viral.
Reporter Meredith Aldis with the NBC-affiliated TV station WRCB said she was invited to the event, and was told when she got there that she wouldn’t be allowed to speak to Greene or guests. When she later tried to ask Greene a question about calls for her expulsion from Congress in connection with her social media activity, Greene replied, “I’m talking to my constituents,” interrupting Aldis.
A staffer told Aldis that she and her crew would have to leave, and two sheriff’s deputies were waved over to escort them out, according to Aldis. She says she was told if they stayed on the property they would be arrested and charged with criminal trespassing. Part of the exchange can be seen in WRCB’s footage.
Aldis later tweeted about the incident. “I tried to ask a question during the Town Hall meeting and was threatened to be arrested by Whitfield County Sheriff’s Deputies and was escorted out,” she wrote.
A spokesperson for Greene’s office said after the incident that the event was a town hall meeting for constituents, not a press conference, and Aldis was not approved to ask questions, according to WRCB.
CBS News has reached out to Greene’s office for comment on the incident, the backlash she is facing about her social media activity before she was elected to Congress, and the resurfacing of the 2019 video.
Greene has expressed racist views and support for QAnon conspiracy theories online. Earlier this month, Twitter suspended her account “without explanation,” she said in a statement at the time, while also condemning big tech companies for “silencing” conservative views.
This week, CNN reported that in one post from 2019 she liked a comment that said “a bullet to the head would be quicker” to remove House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. In 2018, when a commenter asked about hanging “H & O,” apparently referring to Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, Greene replied: “Stage is being set. Players are being put in place. We must be patient. This must be done perfectly or liberal judges would let them off.”
Greene also liked comments about killing FBI agents, the CNN review of posts and comments on Greene’s Facebook page found.
Greene released a statement in response to the article, saying “teams of people managed my pages” over the years and that “many posts have been liked.” She also said some of the posts unearthed by CNN “did not represent my views.”
Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) said Wednesday he was introducing a resolution to expel Greene from Congress immediately.
“Such advocacy for extremism and sedition not only demands her immediate expulsion from Congress, but it also merits strong and clear condemnation from all of her Republican colleagues, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell,” he said in a a statement.
“Her very presence in office represents a direct threat against the elected officials and staff who serve our government, and it is with their safety in mind, as well as the security of institutions and public servants across our country, that I call on my House colleagues to support my resolution to immediately remove Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene from this legislative body,” he said.
The Republican lawmaker is also under fire for a video that was taken at the U.S. Capitol in 2019 and has since resurfaced. It shows Greene following David Hogg, who became one of the leaders of the “March for our Lives” movement after a gunman opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida in 2018, killing 17 people.
Greene is seen making false claims while asking Hogg questions on gun rights, and she calls Hogg a “coward,” who “can’t defend his stance.” Media Matters reported last week that she agreed the Parkland shooting was a “false flag” planned event.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi blasted Republicans on Thursday for not doing more to rebuke Greene and for putting her on the House education committee.
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