Nebraska Rep. Mike Flood's town hall devolves into shouting, standoffs between attendees

COLUMBUS, Neb. (KLKN) — Columbus High School became the scene of a contentious town hall Tuesday evening between Nebraska Rep. Mike Flood and his constituents.

It was a long and loud evening for the Republican, as well over a hundred people showed up to the event — causing him to go past his planned 6 p.m. end time.

The town hall was a clear departure from advice given by House Speaker Mike Johnson, who advised against holding such events because of their increasingly heated nature.

What was intended to be an hourlong question-and-answer turned into questions interlaced with shouting, chanting and booing from the audience.

Some attendees jumped up from their seats to scream at Flood, and one man held a sign that read “lies.”

Opponents were not happy with Flood’s support of President Donald Trump and the cost-cutting effort DOGE — the Department of Government Efficiency.

Karin Phillips of Columbus told Channel 8 before the event she’s worried about the reach of unelected Elon Musk.

“The biggest issue is the unconstitutional way this administration is running the government between Elon, the president and the Department of Justice,” Phillips said. “The things he’s doing, really, really — he’s like a tyrant dictator.”

Flood said he took an oath to support the rule of law — while adding his answers wouldn’t placate the audience.

“Ultimately, we are going to live under the rule of law,” Flood said. “Now you may not agree with that right now, you may not agree with that answer, but I trust the court system to operate. … They will do a good job regulating that tension between the branches of government.”

That answer was interrupted by shouting from the audience.

Flood did receive thunderous applause for saying he supports Ukraine, but attendees like Kim Stabbe said that isn’t enough to sway any opinions.

“He doesn’t answer any questions,” Stabbe said. “He stood up there and said, ‘I love (and) I will support DOGE and Musk. Right. Right. We’re all screaming at you: The government is fascist.”

Outside the high school, a handful of people gathered, with two holding signs calling for Trump to be impeached.

One particularly vocal attendee, Scott Thomas, was wearing a Team Trump crown.

Thomas told media gathered outside he came out to support Trump and stand against “liberal ideology.”

“I really did appreciate what Flood was saying in there just now,” Thomas said. “Rep. Flood had a lot of really good points to make.”

Thomas and others argued loudly for several minutes about transgender policies and abortion before walking away.