6 Aug 2009
At town hall meetings in Tampa, Detroit, and St. Louis yesterday -- chaos.
A forum on aging sponsored by Rep. Russ Carnahan, D-Mo., resulted in protests and violence and six arrests -- including that of a St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter.
"The forum drew an overflow crowd of several hundred to Bernard Middle School gym in south St. Louis County," the Post-Dispatch reports. "Dozens of people, many carrying signs about the health care debate, were kept out because of the turnout. The back and forth between factions within the crowd created a carnival-like atmosphere inside and out between members of the movement opposing President Barack Obama's policies and groups who came to show support for the president's proposals. The six people were arrested after confrontations outside the school…"