Protesters Interrupt Florida Governor At GOP Forum
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SARASOTA (CBSMiami/AP) — Florida Governor Rick Scott is running for Senate while supporting other GOP members inside the state.
Scott was interrupted by protesters several times while speaking at a Republican candidates' forum on Florida's Gulf Coast Saturday, including by one protester who called him "a liar."
Video tweeted by the television station Spectrum Bay News 9 shows the protester jumping on a table and raising a fist before he is escorted out of an arena in Sarasota.
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported that the protests were organized by Dream Defenders, a criminal justice reform group. The group sent out a press release afterward criticizing Scott for taking campaign money from private prison operator GEO Group.
Republican supporters booed as the protester was escorted out of the arena by law enforcement. When another protester was escorted out, the Republican supporters chanted "USA."
The term-limited Scott is running as a Republican for the U.S. Senate.
He smiled on the stage with his palms together as one of the protesters yelled at him.
"They can't get people to go to their rallies so they came to our rallies," Scott told more than 1,000 Republicans in the arena. He later added, "We have 1,000 people here and they have four. I think we're going to do well."
Other Republicans at the forum included gubernatorial candidates Adam Putnam and Ron DeSantis.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)