Liberal protesters yelled throughout the opening prayer and Pledge of Allegiance on Wednesday during Sen. Bill Cassidy's (R., La.) town hall meeting in Metairie, La.
Cassidy scheduled the town hall to discuss various issues including immigration, health care, and the economy. However, many people in the crowd would not listen to Cassidy, and instead heckled him and yelled out slogans commonly heard at anti-Republican rallies.
Before Cassidy addressed the crowd and took questions, Louisiana State chaplain Dr. Michael Sprague announced that he would begin the prayer. As soon as he said "prayer" the crowd erupted.
Several people could be heard yelling, "Prayer? Prayer?" while other people yelled, "Separation of church and state."
Another person added, "Pray on your own time. This is our time."
The yelling softened as the prayer went on, but erupted again when Sprague concluded, "We pray in Jesus' name."
Several people began yelling about the separation of church and state again.
The people shouting about separation of church and state were incorrect when they asserted the chaplain was infringing on their religious rights. The 2014 Supreme Court case, Town of Greece v. Galloway, protects the opening prayer at legislative sessions.
The crowd did not let up with the heckling following the opening prayer, and continued to yell as a local veteran took the microphone to lead the Pledge of Allegiance.
Dozens of people did not stand for the Pledge. Instead, many of them sat down and continued to yell at Cassidy.
One man yelled, "Do your job." Another woman yelled, "Get on with it." And another man near the front of the room yelled, "Your words run hollow. Your words run hollow."