EXCLUSIVE: Leaders of a progressive group in the New York City suburbs are looking to protest a front-line House Republican’s town hall on Sunday night — and Fox News Digital got an inside look at their plans.
Footage from the Indivisible Rockland Organizing Committee’s monthly meeting on Wednesday shows one of the group’s leaders discussing “potentially [having] thousands of people out front” of the event in West Nyack being held by Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., this weekend.
“It is a long street, and we’re trying to fill the entire street, so everyone coming into the rally will see people there and recognize it’s not going to be all, like, sunshine and daisies,” organizer Pascale Jean-Gilles can be seen saying.
Jean-Gilles is also a local elected official in Lawler’s district, serving on the Nyack Village Board of Trustees and as deputy mayor.
SENATE GOP PUSHES TRUMP BUDGET FRAMEWORK THROUGH AFTER MARATHON VOTE SERIES
“We want to be able to push back on some of the rules that we feel like are really cutting and chilling our First Amendment rights, like saying that we can’t record it. It’s a public meeting,” Jean-Gilles said.
The demonstration outside Lawler’s town hall will be a joint-organized effort as well, Jean-Gilles said, with “local unions” and other groups.
And while she made clear that her group was only behind the demonstration outside Lawler’s rally, the local elected official appeared to endorse disruptions inside the event as well.
She said the rally rules made it “very clear you cannot whoop or shout or yell,” but added, “There will be things we’re not gonna want to hear from him, and we should be able to make it known.”
“I think that it looks poorly upon him if he’s kicking people out for just booing him, because that is, as people have seen through thousands of Supreme Court cases, that’s an acceptable form of dissent, and it’s covered under First Amendment rights,” Jean-Gilles said.
“Now, if people are shouting slurs and hate speech, that’s where I absolutely draw the line… that only feeds into his argument that we’re all crazy leftists and liberals, as opposed to people who live in this community.”
Jean-Gilles said she and other activists would also prepare suggested questions for town hall attendees.
“We are prepared, and this will be something we may hand out on the day of — a couple of us have been working on just questions that we think that folks will either want to ask, or maybe want to add their own personal twist to,” the official said. “So we’ll have those prepared for people, that just in case their number gets called, if you didn’t already think of one yourself, have a question that you can be prepared to ask.”
Indivisible is a national left-wing organization whose local offshoots have been targeting Republican town halls for much of this year, encouraging activists to disrupt the events from both inside and outside.
An event listed by Indivisible on the organizing platform Mobilize is advertising a full-day event beginning in New York City and ending at Lawler’s town hall on Sunday.
“Republicans are planning to cut Medicaid, SNAP, and other vital programs to fund massive tax cuts for billionaires. Congress will be home for April Recess and must hear from us,” the event summary read.
“Join other activists to inform constituents in NY17/Tarrytown of this outrageous bill, urge them to phone Rep. Lawler to oppose it as well as attending Rep. Lawler’s Town Hall on April 27. We’ll be taking Metro North to Tarrytown.”
Democrats are poised to pour enormous time and resources into New York’s 17th Congressional District, where Lawler is widely seen as one of the most vulnerable House Republicans of the 2026 election cycle.
MEET THE TRUMP-PICKED LAWMAKERS GIVING SPEAKER JOHNSON A FULL HOUSE GOP CONFERENCE
When reached for comment on plans to disrupt the upcoming town hall, Lawler spokesman Ciro Riccardi told Fox News Digital, “It is deeply disappointing that far-left radical groups like Indivisible Rockland are planning to disrupt the upcoming town hall.”
“These actions undermine our democratic process by stifling civil debate, harming the very constituents who attend to discuss critical voter issues. We remain committed to fostering open, respectful dialogue and will take precautions to ensure a safe environment for all attendees,” Riccardi said.
Jean-Gilles referred Fox News Digital to the Indivisible Rockland Organizing Committee for comment.
When reached, the group’s steering committee said it had received “hundreds” of messages from constituents who could not get into Lawler’s town hall.
“In response, we decided to organize a peaceful demonstration outside the venue. This demonstration is meant to give voice to those who were excluded from the room but still want to be part of the democratic process. We want to make it clear that we are not organizing or endorsing any protest activity inside the town hall,” Indivisible Rockland said.
“It is also important to recognize the truth of the matter: This so-called town hall offers very limited opportunities for real public engagement. That is not right, it is not fair, and, in fact, it goes against the spirit of the Constitution.”
Regarding Jean-Gilles, specifically, the group noted she was hosting the event in a personal capacity unrelated to her government role.
“Her comments during what was a private organizing meeting reflected the consensus of our group and not her official role or anything related to the governance of Nyack. She accurately underscored our values of free expression and clear boundaries against hate speech and harassment,” the group said.
“We hope Congressman Lawler does more than just see this demonstration. We hope he listens. The people showing up are his constituents. They are families, workers, students and neighbors who care deeply about this community and are demanding to be heard. This demonstration is not just a sign of civic involvement, it is a message: We are watching, we are engaged, and we expect better from those in power.”
Read the full article here
