Keene, New Hampshire (CNN) — A handful of Occupy Wall Street activists disrupted a well-attended town hall hosted by Rep. Ron Paul at Keene State College Monday.
After a moderator announced Paul would be taking his last question, a man in the audience stood up and yelled “Mic check!”
Programming note: GOP presidential candidates face off at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday, November 22, in the CNN Republican National Security Debate in Washington, D.C.
About 15 people chimed in, repeating a few lines:
“There are criminals on Wall Street who walk free. There are protesters in jail. There is something wrong with this system.”
Paul listened to the chant and chatted with an aide as the protesters dominated the room. Then he leaned into the mic and asked: “Do you feel better?”
Paul explained to the audience he was “very much involved with the 99.”
“I’ve been condemning that 1% because they’ve been ripping us off,” he said. “The people on Wall Street got the bail-outs and you guys got stuck with the bills. And I think that’s where the problem is.”
The audience of several hundred, mostly students, applauded in Paul’s defense.
Organizers of the event had originally set out 200 chairs but had to wheel in stacks of extra seating when students continued to pack into the hall. Dozens stood during Paul’s speech.
They applauded many of the rallying points of Paul’s message, including his belief United States troops should come home, and his advocacy for changing drug laws.
