Florida AG heckled by protesters after watching Mister Rogers' movie



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It was not very good neighborhood.

A group of protesters called Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi on the occasion of a screening of Mister Rogers' new documentary, "Will not You Be My Neighbor?"

Video of the confrontation posted on Twitter Progressive activist Timothy Haberlein of Organize Florida shows several people screaming at Bondi as she leaves the Tampa Theater Friday night, escorted by law enforcement.

"You are a horrible person!" Shouts a person.

Others have questioned his recent actions on health care policy, including his decision in February to join a lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act and his stance on the subject. immigration.

"What would Mister Rogers think of your Florida legacy of removing sickness insurance from people with health problems?" Shouted someone else adding, "Shame on you!"

Protesters told the Tampa Bay Times that they had not planned to assail Bondi that night – until someone spotted him. buying a ticket before the movie and started asking him questions.

"[Another protester] She approached her first and she was trying to engage with her and ask her difficult questions, and she felt uncomfortable answering her questions. to questions, "said Maria Jose Chapa, a local union organizer. "And I suppose she felt threatened because she called the police."

The Tampa Police Department confirmed that they were called to escort Bondi out of the theater after the movie.

After the movie, Chapa tried to engage Bondi in a conversation about health care and immigration – and that's when other protesters started screaming, did not they? -she says.

But a Bondi spokesman said the confrontation was more violent than the video broadcast by the protesters had shown.

"The video that they choose to share is the least aggressive part of the attack that took place after the police arrived to control the scene.What they do not publicly share, this There have been several previous encounters involving big men who showed up in the face of the Attorney General, spitting and blocking his release, "spokesman Whitney Ray said in a statement sent by email.

Chapa called this version of events a "lie," that there were no great men in her group – although she conceded that she had not "The balance or temperament" of Mr. Rogers.

Fred Rogers, a beloved television personality who hosted the preschool educational series "Mister Rogers & # 39; Neighborhood" passed away in 2003.

Bondi said that the sudden protest was a stark contrast to the lessons he passed on.

"We were in a film about the fight against intimidation and the practice of peace, love and tolerance and the acceptance of people for their differences," said Bondi. "That's what Mr. Rogers is talking about, we all believe in freedom of expression, but there is a big difference out there."

The confrontation occurred the same evening when President Trump's press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, was expelled from a Virginia restaurant for moral reasons.

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