Fight Breaks Out at Town Hall Meeting in St. Louis to Discuss Health Care

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…"

In a prepared statement released Friday morning, Carnahan said: "Sadly we've seen stories about disrupters around the country, and we have a handful of them here in Missouri. Instead of participating in a civil debate, they have mobilized with special interests in Washington who have lined their pockets by overcharging Americans for a broken health care system."