Hundreds clash with Congresswoman Spartz through 2hour town hall
Mar 28, 2025
Voters clash with congresswoman during town hall
WESTFIELD, Ind. (WISH) — It was supposed to be a town hall, but it turned into a shouting match between Indiana Congresswoman Victoria Spartz and hundreds of voters in Hamilton County.
The Republican representative had to move Friday’s to
wn hall to the IMMI Conference Center in Westfield over capacity concerns, which were confirmed when some people had to be removed and others kept out of the event altogether.
Rep. Spartz struggled to speak over the chorus of critics through much of the two-hour town hall. About 500 people were inside the venue, while protesters staged outside the entrance.
Discussion of DOGE drew boos, mentions of President Donald Trump drew boos, and even calls to stop the boos drew boos. It mirrored other high-profile Republican town halls amid a controversial start to the second Trump term.
“She’s a politician. She had her agenda. She didn’t want to hear our agenda,” attendee Kay Murphy Collins said after the event.
Facing an adversarial crowd, and intermittent chants of “do your job”, Spartz defended DOGE by saying the debt and deficit situation is becoming dire.
Spartz also said she supported President Trump’s sweeping executive orders, saying the filibuster stops congress from passing his agenda, which she called a “broken system.”
“Unfortunately, to pass any law right now, you would need 60 votes [in the Senate],” Spartz told the audience. “Congress cannot come to an agreement.”
“She gave no direct answers, she just gave the talking points she wanted people to hear,” attendee Joyce Kleinman told News 8 afterwards. “And she kept saying she wanted to have a conversation. And that’s not a conversation.”
As the night went on, some in the audience asked the crowd to stop shouting during Spartz’ answers. The congresswoman even earned applause with a half-hour left, when a man thanked her for holding the town hall.
But many were disappointed with what they heard.
“I hope that people are resolved and are going out to say ‘What can we do?,'” Barbara Kramarc said after the town hall ended. “We need to save our nation.”
Spartz will hold another town hall Saturday inside Muncie City Hall from 11 a.m. – 1p.m.
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