Chaos at Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Cobb town hall; Tasers, arrests and MAGA politics

“I’m glad they got thrown out. That’s exactly what I wanted to see happen,” she said after the roughly hourlong event. “This isn’t a political rally or a protest. I held a town hall tonight. You know who was out of line? The protesters.”

Democrats promised to continue more confrontational tactics to protest Trump and his supporters. Essence Johnson, chair of the Cobb County Democratic Committee, condemned the arrests and said an attorney was already working to clear the three demonstrators who face charges.

“At this time, we believe they were unjustly arrested,” said Johnson. “People are passionate now. They’re upset. They’re frustrated. They believe democracy is being taken away from them. They’re at their wits end.”

First elected in 2018, Greene has built a national brand around provocation and hardline rhetoric — cementing her status as one of Trump’s fiercest allies and a driving force behind his push to slash federal spending and dismantle government agencies.

Her firebrand politics have also made her a favorite target for Democrats, who see Greene’s alignment with Trump’s agenda as a potent foil to rally their base.

Greene and her supporters were prepared for disruptions at the event, one of the few in-person congressional town halls in Georgia since Trump’s return to the White House. There was heavy police presence at the community center, with armed officers stationed throughout the building.

Access to the event was so tightly controlled by Greene’s team that a few dozen seats were empty when she took the stage, even though there were crowds outside.

Soon, more seats would empty as a string of Greene critics protested the event — some walked out quietly holding signs, others struggled with authorities and were forcibly removed.

Credit: Jenni Girtman

Credit: Jenni Girtman

As Greene worked through a slideshow presentation, one man scuffled with several law enforcement officers trying to remove him from the room. After two jolts from a Taser, he was wrestled to the ground and then forced out of the room as the crowd applauded.

Police later said they had charged three people with offenses ranging from simple battery on a law enforcement officer, obstruction of a law enforcement officer to vulgar language.

Other Greene critics in the room steered clear of disruption. Wendy Davis, a former Rome city councilwoman who unsuccessfully ran against Greene in 2022, said she wanted to hear why “extremist Republicans” seek to cut government safety net programs.

“As our representative she is supposed to stand up for the people of this district, and the chainsaw cuts to department after department of the federal government is not making groceries or housing more affordable,” said Davis, who is now running to lead the Democratic Party of Georgia.

“She produced the show she planned,” Davis added, “but there was no dialogue or real engagement with the people of her district.”

Credit: Jenni Girtman for the AJC

Credit: Jenni Girtman for the AJC

Greene took prewritten questions rather than calling on attendees. She peppered her remarks with praise for Trump, critiques of “brainwashed” Democrats and attacks on the news media. At one point, she proudly showed the crowd a personal note from Trump.

Still, several of the questions she took were pointed, including one that asked why she was “such a coward in the face of an obvious fascist takeover.” Greene, smiling, replied she’s “yet to see a fascist gathering. That doesn’t exist in the Republican Party.”

Several protesters outside the community center held signs accusing Greene of improperly benefiting from Trump’s decision last week to pause tariffs. Greene echoed a previous statement that a financial adviser manages her portfolio without her input.

“He did a great job. He bought the dip,” Greene said. “And that’s what anybody with any financial sense does when they know the market is going to be going down.”

Once a standard part of Georgia’s political landscape, Greene’s town hall Tuesday stood out in other ways beyond the arrests and disruptions.

After U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick was repeatedly heckled at a February town hall in Roswell, House Speaker Mike Johnson urged GOP members to avoid in-person events. Many scrapped or scaled back their plans.

Instead, Greene ventured to the bluest part of her northwest Georgia district for the town hall: a slice of suburban Cobb County that was redrawn into her otherwise solidly Republican territory in 2021.

The new lines shifted some of the most solidly Democratic, diverse parts of Cobb from U.S. Rep. David Scott — one of the longest serving Democrats in the South — to Greene, whose name has become synonymous with bomb-throwing rhetoric.

But the overhaul did little to dent her political standing. In 2022, Greene won two-thirds of the vote against Democrat Marcus Flowers, who raised more than $16 million. Last year, she defeated a lesser-known Democrat by a similar margin.

With Trump’s reelection, Greene’s influence in Congress has only grown. She leads a subcommittee tasked with carrying out Trump’s cost-cutting, government-shrinking initiatives. She has more than $700,000 in her campaign coffers.

And she told “Politically Georgia” that she is considering challenging Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff next year if Gov. Brian Kemp doesn’t enter the race. She didn’t directly mention her political future during Tuesday’s event. But she made clear that the protests didn’t faze her.

“I have a job to do, and that job is extremely important,” she said. “I’m not deterred.”

Credit: Jenni Girtman for the AJ

Credit: Jenni Girtman for the AJ