NEW HANOVER COUNTY — Wilmington joined the chorus of town halls being held across the United States, calling on representatives to answer to constituents amid rising tension and cuts to the federal government. While those in attendance Friday night said it was to hold elected officials accountable, staff from one representative is saying invitations have been declined due to threats to their safety.
READ MORE: ‘U.S. mail is not for sale’: Local postal union rallies against Trump’s plans for USPS privatization
ALSO: From questionnaires to town halls, some Republican candidates disengage media
A grassroots organization, Indivisible Wilmington, hosted local brother-duo Cliff Cash and New York Times best-selling author, Wiley Cash, along with New Hanover House Representative Deb Butler for an “empty-chair town hall” event at Cape Fear Community College on Friday, March 21. Packed with comedy, it poked fun at some of the Trump administration’s current policies — such as dismantling the Department of Education — while also informing the audience on what progressives are pushing.
Organizers of Indivisible — a national organization with local chapters focused on advancing progressive policies — said they sent two formal requests to U.S. Rep. David Rouzer (R-NC7) to appear at the town hall but did not hear back. Rouzer’s last town hall meeting took place in 2017 in Brunswick County. This comes as the candidate also didn’t respond to election forums against challenger Marlando Pridgen, hosted ahead of last year’s election.
The Indivisible chapters have hosted town hall events across the country as congressional leaders recessed from March 13 to 23. Republican reps nationwide have faced scrutiny at town hall meetings for their support of Trump administration policies and Elon Musk’s quasi-governmental Department of Government Efficiency.
Roughly 300 people were permitted entry into Friday’s event, with organizers turning away about 150. The crowd was vocally involved in the discussions, periodically chanting “vote them out” in reference to their legislators.
“It’s shameful that they won’t face the voters,” attendee Pamela Cook told PCD. “What does representative government mean if the ‘representatives’ won’t hear our concerns or answer our questions?”
Cook said multiple issues worried her, particularly with DOGE. In two months, the agency has targeted the U.S. Agency for International Development, U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, and Department of Education. Cook was concerned about a lack of guardrails in place.
“That Rep. Rouzer is just going along with it all, and not standing up for the people he represents — it seems like he, and many other representatives, are just frightened of being primaried by a Trump-backed candidate and that matters much more than their constituents,” Cook said. “What I got from the town hall was energy and clarity that, indeed, he’s hiding from us.”
In early March, Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson encouraged fellow Republicans to avoid attending town hall meetings, claiming demonstrators at recent events were paid protestors. Indivisible Wilmington denied these claims.
Despite the warning, Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC11) faced a contentious crowd at a town hall in Asheville on March 13, leading to the congressman and his constituents being escorted out of the building by security.
Sen. Thom Tillis was expected to attend a town hall meeting in Greensboro on March 17, but decided not to appear. Tillis’ office recently raised concerns about their safety at these events, sharing voicemail audio of aggressive death threatsdirected at the senator and his staff.
Indivisible Wilmington said they did not extend an invitation to Tillis and his staff because he stated he would not attend any town hall meetings.
“Tonight’s event is trying to show that Congressman Rouzer doesn’t seem to be willing to do town halls as promised,” Butler stated.
The goal of the Indivisible function was to give the community a platform to express their issues regarding recent decisions by the Trump administration and their elected federal lawmakers.
“We would have been more than happy to collaborate and create a safe environment for him to come to a town hall,” event moderator and Indivisible Wilmington leader Ashley Iadanza told Port City Daily. “I think people just want to feel heard and want to be able to ask their questions and get some very necessary answers.”
PCD reached out to Rouzer for comment but did not hear back by press.
Indivisible Wilmington gathered audience questions from attendees prior to the event. Questions revolved around the status of Veterans Affairs, reliability of Medicaid and Social Security, the war in Ukraine, and the environment.
The Cash brothers acted as stand-ins for Rouzer and Tillis, wearing large cardboard cutouts of the lawmakers’ faces.
Among many questions presented, the brothers were asked about whether or not they still believe in the Constitution and protecting their constituents.
“My answer for now is yes,” Wiley Cash said, acting as Tillis. “After I leave the stage and get a text message from Donnie John Trump, I don’t know. I believe the Constitution exists somewhere in Washington, D.C., in an undisclosed location.”
In response to recent deportations of hundreds of immigrants to El Salvador, Cliff Cash as Rep. Rouzer said: “I just want to say that with these Venezuelan people, all that Donald Trump told me were bad. I believe him because I’ve never known him to be dishonest except for Trump University.”
The Cash brothers are Wilmington natives. Cliff Cash is a comedian and political activist who has never shied away from pulling politics into comedy. On March 16, he organized a protest against Project 2025 at the Heritage Foundation in Washington D.C.
Wiley Cash is best known for his book, “A Land More Kind than Home.” Along with four other novels, he teaches fiction writing and literature at the University of North Carolina Asheville.
They were joined onstage by a lifelike dummy of Rouzer created by Wilmington artist William Hubbard.
“I think that in comedy there’s a thing about punching up,” Iadanza told PCD. “When you put yourself in a public-facing position, not everybody’s going to agree with you, but when you are making a choice as an adult to represent the people in your community, the least you can do is show face and make sure that you’re properly representing them.”
Joanne Levitan, also in attendance on Friday, said being there solidified she wasn’t alone in facing similar concerns and feeling “powerless.” Levitan worries over recent firings at the Environmental Protection Agency.
“Chemours dumped PFAS into the Cape Fear River and contaminated our drinking water. Without the EPA there would be no regulations in place and nobody to enforce them,” she said. “David Rouzer and Thom Tillis are doing nothing to stop this from happening.”
Rouzer recently voiced his support of the Trump administration’s revisions of the Waters of the United States Act. The change would redefine what bodies of water and wetlands are federally protected under the Clean Water Act.
“With the Trump Administration’s leadership, we are ensuring the federal government will no longer overstep its boundaries in regulating our waters and will instead adhere to what the law actually says,” Rouzer said in a statement on the act.
Levitan added having Rouzer or Tillis in attendance could have helped constituents understand their actions as well.
“The questions that were asked at the town hall were reasonable and not hostile,” she said. “I think Tillis and Rouzer are cowards for not holding town halls and listening to the concerns of their constituents. I do not feel represented.”
Butler pressed on the audience to “get to work” and put pressure on those who are elected.
“One day soon we won’t have to ask the Cash brothers to come in here and impersonate these bananas because we will have replaced them,” she told the crowd Friday.
Along with 10 other state representatives, Butler launched the North Carolina Progressive House Caucus in February, which aims to promote legislation that advances progressive policies. Butler mentioned many bills it has been working on, including the Economic Security Act. The bill seeks to raise the minimum wage, as well as require employers to provide paid sick leave and equal pay for equal work.
Butler also addressed the recent changes to the Department of Education. In January, Rouzer introduced the States’ Education Reclamation Act proposing to abolish the Department of Education, transfer its programs to other federal agencies, and redistribute federal funding to the states for their educational needs.
Trump signed the executive order last week to give Secretary of Education Linda McMahon the power to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return education authority to the states.”
Butler delivered a call to action at Friday’s town hall, encouraging constituents to speak out, not just about education but all policies they may want to see changed.
“Show up in those school board meetings and hold them accountable for their nonsense,” she asserted. “If voting rights are your fight, volunteer, drive somebody to the polls.”
Tillis staff respond to Indivisible group town halls
On Monday, Tillis’ senior advisor Dan Keylin revealed the senator’s office received numerous requests from media asking about Tillis’ presence at town halls across the state. Keylin asked all media to read letters and listen to voicemails that have threatened the senator’s office before asking if Tillis would attend.
“I imagine anyone with a modicum of sanity would understand what a silly question that is,” he wrote. “Democratic parties and established left-wing political groups protesting a Republican member of Congress is nothing new nor newsworthy. What is newsworthy is the volume of threats and harassment directed at members of Congress and their staff is the new normal and indicative of a much larger problem with the political discourse in our country.”
Keylin detailed that two weeks ago Tillis’ office in Greensboro received a handwritten letter declaring staff members were “sacrificial lambs” who “signed up to be his shield.”
“When things get really bad, people are going to stop calling and writing. They’re going to start coming in, and they’re going to be coming in filled with rage that you’re [sic] boss took the food out of their kid’s mouths,” the letter indicated.
He also shared voicemails that suggested the senator “get the f*** out of office” if Tillis was afraid of death threats.
“Don’t he know that his employers can take a f****** axe handle and cave his f***** head in? And his kids’ heads?” one voice expressed in a message left for Tillis.
A few weeks later, Indivisible Guilford County organized a protest at Tillis’ Greensboro office. According to Keylin, Tillis’ staff allowed about 50 protesters to sign the guest book, but some grew upset and tried to forcibly enter the office’s locked door.
“Out of an abundance of caution, law enforcement has since advised our staff to telework on days we expect protestors,” Keylin stated. “We will not make any apologies for prioritizing the safety and security of our staff.”
Elected in 2014, Tillis has received threats before, in 2022 from a Minnesota man who pleaded guilty to saying he would shoot and murder Tillis. In 2023, the senator faced another threat from a man who said he would kill Tillis and cut off staffers’ hands.
NC Newsline reported Saturday Tillis hasn’t held a town hall in 10 years. At a fundraising event on Friday for the senator’s 2026 re-election bid, protesters lined up outside a Raleigh country club to speak out against the senator. It was organized by the Triangle Labor Council, but a few hours later Triangle Area Indivisible Collaborative also held an “empty chair town hall” at Raleigh Brewing Company.
Tillis did not attend.
Keylin questioned whether left-leaning town hall organizers, such as Indivisible, were taking threats against Republican politicians seriously. He also questioned whether Democratic organizations and left-wing groups “fan the flames” on division and “violent political rhetoric.”
“Can they guarantee that individuals at their political events aren’t the same individuals who have sent those letters and made those calls?” Keylin asked.
Butler responded to the Tillis staff concerns:
“I do not condone any threat of violence against anyone, ever. I do wish, however, that Senator Tillis and would hold a town hall of his own. That way, others wouldn’t have to plan them for him and he could use whatever measures he deems necessary to insure the safety of those in attendance.”
Lauren Reynolds, one of Indivisible Wilmington’s leaders, also responded:
“Indivisible Wilmington believes in the power of nonviolent civic engagement. We stand united against political threats and violence,” she said. “If Senator Tillis is willing to meet with his constituents in Wilmington, we will happily work with his team to ensure the proper security for him to feel safe.”
Reach journalist Charlie Fossen at charlie@localdailymedia.com.
Want to read more from PCD? Subscribe now and then sign up for our newsletter, Wilmington Wire, and get the headlines delivered to your inbox every morning.
