Less than a month after canceling in-person town halls due to safety concerns, Rep. Harriet Hageman has restarted the process, albeit somewhat quietly and with restrictions on who can attend.
Hageman has scheduled a town hall for Thursday in Buffalo and another for the following day in Dayton. She circulated invites for the two events via her newsletter. The town halls are not listed on her website’s events page, and in her newsletter, Hageman said only those who register will be allowed in.
In late March, Hageman announced she was moving her town halls online, shortly after a raucous event in Laramie where she was booed and heckled by people upset by the actions of President Donald Trump and the billionaire Elon Musk. Hageman’s staff at the time cited “credible threats to Hageman, and the related national outbursts of politically motivated violence and attempts at intimidation.”
Hageman’s staff did not immediately respond Tuesday to an email from WyoFile requesting comment on what was behind her quiet return to in-person town halls.
The two-term lawmaker consistently held such events throughout her time in office. It is only since Trump returned to power that Hageman’s town halls have drawn both national media attention and heat from people upset at the direction the federal government has taken.
Republican lawmakers nationwide have faced anger and indignation from their constituents when they’ve returned from Washington, D.C. to their home states, as the Musk-led DOGE initiative continues to sharply reduce and restructure government programs.
On March 19, Hageman faced a crowd of more than 500 people who jeered and swore at the congresswoman during a tense town hall in Laramie. She faced more pushback in Wheatland the next night, and, according to a statement she issued canceling further in-person town halls, “an attendee followed Hageman leaving the venue and initiated a physical confrontation with staff.” Wheatland police had to get involved in that incident, Hageman’s statement said.
At the time, she said her town halls would remain virtual “at least in the short-term.”
WyoFile has submitted a public records request for police reports from the Wheatland incident, but has yet to receive any records.
Hageman cast the people who heckled her in Laramie and elsewhere as organized protesters, and some conservatives falsely suggested they had come into the state from elsewhere to flood the events — or were even paid protesters. Wyoming Democrats pushed back on those assertions and accused Hageman of seeking to dismiss constituents’ deep concerns about the Trump administration’s actions.
Yet, her new, lower-key town halls have not escaped the opposition party’s attention. On Facebook, the Sheridan County Democrats called on their members to sign up to attend the town halls, or bring signs and picket outside. “Be as civil as you can manage,” the post instructed.
The town hall in Buffalo is being held at the Bomber Mountain Civic Center at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Those who wish to attend can register here.
The town hall in Dayton is being held at 6:30 p.m. at the Dayton Community Center. Those who wish to attend can register here.
Hageman’s newsletter invited those who “live in the county in which the town hall is scheduled and would like to attend” to register. It’s unclear if only residents from Johnson and Sheridan counties will be granted entry, and Hageman’s staff did not respond to a WyoFile inquiry on that point.
This story has been updated to correct the date of Rep. Hageman’s Laramie town hall. -Ed.
This is not a “public meeting” it seems to only be for people who voted for her and trump and agree with her agenda. So, she got booed and heckled, she has to face the music and not be a coward. Cowboy up Maggie.
There is not a democrat in the state who could have put up with such a hostile crowd as what she did at her meetings, for as long as she did.
When Hageman said she helped get the Laken Riley Act passed, the leftists and democrats booed. That’s all I need to know about those people.
defending a proven liar tells people all they need to know about the gullible boomers and their political ideals.
Really, Is that the best you got? All politicians and people are liars to a degree, including you and me.
Part of being a human. Did you boo when the Laken Riley act passed?
Do you enjoy the company of rapists and women killers? Tell the truth now.
A Brian Sicknick Act would help.
So she is having “private” town halls, not “public” town halls? That seems sketchy. But then if it’s a “public” meeting I don’t believe she can legally keep the voters/constituents who disagree with her out. Or, she can conveniently “not get the registration” of those same people like they also didn’t get the links for her online townhalls.
Must be so hard being a PUBLIC SERVANT who works for ALL the citizens of Wyoming – but I guess she’s found a way to only have to endure the presence of those who will stroke her ego. Guess Hageman is kind of a snowflake and can’t handle people holding her accountable or giving them her their opinion.
What good are public town halls if the audience must be screened in order to be admitted ? Why else would ” registration” be a prerequisite if not to check names against voter rolls…
Preaching to the choir is hypocrisy
In other words Hageman wants to meet with only people who support her. She apparently does not care what anyone who disagrees might have to say or have any desire to try to explain her positions. It is called preaching to the choir.
Yes, control the flow of information – just as any fun-loving lover of autocracy does.
If we want “We the People” we’ve got to Be the People.
Attend these meetings and exert the full glory and power of your American citizenship. It’s a sacred, awesome thing. This time we’re in has come to us as another test, imploring us to rise up once again and show our country who is really in charge.
After all, we challenged a king and became a republic. We took on entrenched slaveholders and became a truly free state. And thanks to our greatest generation, we defeated the Nazis and kept freedom lit around the world. This is one of those times we have to be loud about our freedom again. This is one of those times we have to truly Be the People our founders intended.
Why would you want to listen to a Trump groveling liar like Hageman? Vote her out.
she’s a lying coward.
i give it 2 weeks before she lies about being swatted again.