Estero, Fla. (WFLA) – City Hall, held by Rep. Byron Donald in southwestern Florida, made a chaotic turn Monday as audience members screamed at House members and leapt out of the building.
NBC affiliate WBBH packed the auditorium at Estero High School with hundreds of members.
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Cheers and boo-in erupted at various points during the event. A group of pro-Palestinian protesters were escorted from the building.
Almost half of the crowd left by the end of the night, but Donald seemed unsteady.
“I’m not too surprised anymore,” Donald told WBBH. “You just have to exchange it so that it comes. From the first question you could tell what kind of night it would be.”
Donald is one of the Republicans who held City Hall after the National Republican Congressional Committee recommended the event. Councilman Marjorie Taylor Greene held the City Hall earlier this month. There, some audience members were arrested and unsettled by the police, while others were taken away.
The Republican House member was also a favorite of the 2026 Florida governor’s race, and received much-needed support from President Donald Trump before he officially threw his hat into the ring.