Protesters interrupted former Secretary of Labor Tom Perez during a forum hosted by the Women's National Democratic Club on Wednesday.
Perez and other candidates vying to be the next chair of the Democratic National Committee attended the forum moderated by MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle.
The protesters interrupted Perez and unfurled a large banner threatening Democrats to either do more to fight President Donald Trump or face competition in primaries from candidates who will do more to fight the president. Ruhle asked the protesters to sit down, which they did not do. The rest of the crowd began yelling at the protesters to sit down.
"Dems: #Resist Trump or Be Replaced," the banner said.
"Commit to supporting primary challengers to fight against Democrats who refuse to resist Donald Trump’s agenda," one protester said.
Protest during Tom Perez's comments at #DNCForum at Woman's National Dem club. pic.twitter.com/55XULf1Ms0
— Nomiki Konst (@NomikiKonst) February 16, 2017
Perez paused until the room was quiet again.
"Part of the reason I love the Democratic Party, folks, is it's a big tent," Perez said.
The former labor secretary under President Obama then compared the Democratic Party to his family having Thanksgiving dinner.
