North Carolina GOP town hall turns heated as self-described veteran escorted out by security

The outburst unfolded Thursday night at a college auditorium in Asheville during a gathering hosted by Rep. Chuck Edwards, who serves the state's 11th District. 

"In my view, the debt crisis has been largely ignored far too long and the time is now to fix how Washington works. To that end, I was proud to vote recently for the House budget resolution which provides the framework," Edwards was heard telling the audience before being interrupted by boos and jeers. He then said, "And you wonder why folks don't want to do these town halls." 

Moments later, a man in the audience started shouting at Edwards, saying "You have nothing to say but lies. You're lying. I'm a veteran, and you don't give a f--- about me!"  

"You don't get to take away our rights" the man continued to shout. "You don't get to do this to us!" 

The audience in the room applauded as the man was removed from the room by law enforcement. 

"You f------ touch me again and I'll lay you the f--- out!" the man said before exiting the area. 

Edwards later said on X that he had a "lively town hall with my constituents in Asheville." 

"Do you support the annexation of Canada and/or Greenland? And this is a yes or no question, I don't want you to wander off into the woods, I don't want to hear about your latest week in your office," Edwards was asked by one audience member, to which he replied "the short answer to that is no." 

"We may not agree on every issue, but hearing the concerns of Western North Carolinians and answering your questions will continue to be a priority of mine," Edwards said.