( COVINGTON, KY ) -- As Republican Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell showed up at Hotel Covington to speak to the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, he was greeted by dozens of protesters lining Madison Avenue.
As Senator McConnell tried to speak, he was interrupted after a few minutes by a female protester who had paid to get in and waited for the Senator to speak. She shouted at the Senator, "We're protesting Right to Work, we are protesting losing our healthcare, we are protesting Russian interference in the White House, we are protesting the fact that, to get in front of you, we have to pay dollars. Why won't you hold a town hall with your constituents? We want to hear from you. We want to talk to you." She was escorted out by police.
Minutes later, a male protester stood up, and at first, the Senator tried to power through with his speech, but eventually fell silent and allowed the man to speak before he too was escorted out, telling police "I paid to get in here!" as they made him leave.
Outside, protesters claimed that they were unhappy with the dealings of the White House and Senator McConnell's support for it. They said they were unhappy with the direction Kentucky was going, and felt that not enough was being done to help the environment. They also said that they believe Senator McConnell works for "big business" and "big pharmaceutical".
Inside the event, Senator McConnell said that "protesting is about as American as apple pie," and said he welcomes the protests and people voicing their opinions. He did say, however, that he feels that "the winners make the policies and the losers go home," saying he believes the protests are mostly fueled by people who can't accept the results of the Presidential election in November 2016. Senator McConnell also said "these are not non-bias citizens"; they are "active Democrats", and said that he believes the majority of the protesters are with "what's left of the Kentucky Democratic Party."
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