Hageman quietly resumes in-person town halls – County 17

by Andrew Graham, WyoFile

Less than a month after canceling in-person town halls due to safety concerns, Rep. Harriet Hageman has restarted the process, albeit somewhat quietly and with restrictions on who can attend.

Hageman has scheduled a town hall for Thursday in Buffalo and another for the following day in Dayton. She circulated invites for the two events via her newsletter. The town halls are not listed on her website’s events page, and in her newsletter, Hageman said only those who register will be allowed in.

In late March, Hageman announced she was moving her town halls online, shortly after a raucous event in Laramie where she was booed and heckled by people upset by the actions of President Donald Trump and the billionaire Elon Musk. Hageman’s staff at the time cited “credible threats to Hageman, and the related national outbursts of politically motivated violence and attempts at intimidation.”

Hageman’s staff did not immediately respond Tuesday to an email from WyoFile requesting comment on what was behind her quiet return to in-person town halls. 

The two-term lawmaker consistently held such events throughout her time in office. It is only since Trump returned to power that Hageman’s town halls have drawn both national media attention and heat from people upset at the direction the federal government has taken.

Republican lawmakers nationwide have faced anger and indignation from their constituents when they’ve returned from Washington, D.C. to their home states, as the Musk-led DOGE initiative continues to sharply reduce and restructure government programs. 

On March 20, Hageman faced a crowd of more than 500 people who jeered and swore at the congresswoman during a tense town hall in Laramie. She faced more pushback in Wheatland the next night, and, according to a statement she issued canceling further in-person town halls, “an attendee followed Hageman leaving the venue and initiated a physical confrontation with staff.” Wheatland police had to get involved in that incident, Hageman’s statement said. 

At the time, she said her town halls would remain virtual “at least in the short-term.” 

WyoFile has submitted a public records request for police reports from the Wheatland incident, but has yet to receive any records. 

Hageman cast the people who heckled her in Laramie and elsewhere as organized protesters, and some conservatives falsely suggested they had come into the state from elsewhere to flood the events — or were even paid protesters. Wyoming Democrats pushed back on those assertions and accused Hageman of seeking to dismiss constituents’ deep concerns about the Trump administration’s actions.

Yet, her new, lower-key town halls have not escaped the opposition party’s attention. On Facebook, the Sheridan County Democrats called on their members to sign up to attend the town halls, or bring signs and picket outside. “Be as civil as you can manage,” the post instructed. 

The town hall in Buffalo is being held at the Bomber Mountain Civic Center at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Those who wish to attend can register here. 

The town hall in Dayton is being held at 6:30 p.m. at the Dayton Community Center. Those who wish to attend can register here. 

Hageman’s newsletter invited those who “live in the county in which the town hall is scheduled and would like to attend” to register. It’s unclear if only residents from Johnson and Sheridan counties will be granted entry, and Hageman’s staff did not respond to a WyoFile inquiry on that point.

This article was originally published by WyoFile and is republished here with permission. WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy.

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