Idaho Congressman Russ Fulcher cancels town hall event after protest upends public Q&A

Idaho U.S. Rep. Russ Fulcher postponed his scheduled appearance Tuesday at a public Q&A in the Treasure Valley the morning after a small protest disrupted a similar town hall-style event he hosted in Meridian on Monday night.

About a dozen protesters calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war interrupted Fulcher’s remarks, delaying the event at City Hall for about 20 minutes, a video of the town hall posted to Facebook showed. Meridian police officers arrived and helped bring the meeting back to order when the protesters left.

Fulcher, a Republican serving his third term representing North Idaho, western Idaho and part of Boise, fielded a question from a member of the protest group earlier in the night about the U.S. policy toward Israel. Fulcher responded that the nation was a key intelligence partner in the Middle East, and he continued to support Israel’s right to defend itself after the militant group Hamas attacked in October.

“I know that there’s passion on not just both sides but on four or five different angles,” Fulcher said. “From a geopolitical standpoint, they are a tremendous ally for us. … So yes, I do support Israel, and I support our support of them.”

About 1,200 Israelis were killed in the Oct. 7 attack, which began the war, and the Israeli military says 210 soldiers have died during the ongoing fighting, Reuters reported.

Backed by the U.S., Israel invaded Palestine and began to clear out the border city of Gaza, displacing nearly 2 million residents. More than 25,000 Palestinians have been killed in the violent conflict since the start of the war, according to the Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip.

A coalition of countries led by South Africa has formally accused Israel of committing a genocide in a case before the International Court of Justice. Israel has forcefully rejected the allegation, and U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken earlier this month called the case “meritless.”

Another protester on Monday stood up and yelled at Fulcher to answer why he hasn’t called for an end to the war and began arguing with other attendees. “You are evil!” shouted the masked woman, who identified herself as Palestinian, pointing at Fulcher.

“Israel was attacked,” Fulcher said. “They are standing up for their rights just like you’re standing up for yours, so let’s move on.”

Protesters began to chant “Ceasefire Now!” while holdings signs displaying the same message over the congressman’s requests to allow the meeting to continue. One person waved a Palestinian flag.

Police arrived and the group of protesters exited City Hall about 10 minutes later. There were no arrests following the demonstration, Meridian police spokesperson Kelsey Winnett told the Idaho Statesman.

Fulcher on Tuesday morning announced that the evening’s planned event at the Shilo Inn hotel in Nampa was rescheduled “due to the venue’s availability.” A makeup date and location were said to be coming.

Reached by the Statesman by phone, a manager at the Shilo Inn declined to detail a scheduling conflict that arose and added that she was not at liberty to say why the event was suddenly canceled.

Fulcher’s congressional spokesperson did not respond Tuesday to requests for comment from the Statesman.

Kaylee Peterson, a Democratic challenger to Fulcher for Idaho’s 1st Congressional District, attended the meeting Monday in Meridian and was seated near the protest group. She posted a full video of the town hall to her congressional campaign Facebook page, where over the weekend she also issued a “call to action” to supporters to attend Fulcher’s two Treasure Valley town hall events.

Peterson told the Statesman that the protesters were not associated with her campaign or among her group of supporters who also showed up. She didn’t feel it was her place to try and limit others’ First Amendment rights by stepping in to ease tensions, she said by phone.

“It was unfortunate that things escalated. Things were being thrown out on both sides,” Peterson said. “My supporters were disappointed because they were looking forward to having their questions answered.”

Fulcher eventually retook the podium, thanked police for showing up and told attendees that such an interruption wouldn’t be tolerated in other countries besides the U.S.

“Good, bad or indifferent, people have a right to say what they want to say,” Fulcher said. “It’s unfortunate when it disrupts constructive dialogue, but, look, it’s a freedom of speech thing.”