A brawl broke out during a campaign speech by Texas Governor Greg Abbott after a protester disrupted the event.
The Texas governor was giving a speech in Collins County when an alleged pro-Palestinian heckler interrupted him. While what the protestor said to Abbott is not clear, it was met with immediate boos as a group of attendees swiftly attempted to remove him from the event, which was held in support of Texas Rep. Candy Noble.
The demonstrator yelled “don’t f***ing touch me!” as a group of attendees, some in cowboy hats, shoved and pulled him toward the door. One can be seen grabbing the demonstrator’s jacket and pulling him before others join in. CBS Texas has reported there were two demonstrators at the event on Saturday, but Newsweek has not been able to confirm this.
The video, which has been posted on social media by numerous accounts, has divided opinion. Responding to a post with the video by political commentator and Donald Trump supporter Anthony Hughes on X, formerly Twitter, user Dianna Dull wrote: “Don’t mess with Texas!!!”
Another user, posting under the name Useless Person, disagreed with the show of force used by Abbott’s supporters, writing: “Ah yes, violence against dissenters.” Another remarked: “Yep. Looks like they assaulted him.”
The interruption came on the same day as pro-Palestinian marches were held in Washington D.C., with thousands marching through the capital to demand a ceasefire in the Middle East and to call on President Joe Biden to end U.S. funding for Israel. Similar protests were held in other major cities around the world, including London, Rome and Dublin.
Despite growing international concern over the situation in the Gaza Strip, Israel has vowed to continue with its campaign to root out Hamas after the October 7 attacks, which killed 1,139 people in Israel. An estimated 24,000 people have died in Gaza since the same date, according to a report by Al Jazeera.
“No one will stop us—not The Hague, not the Axis of Evil and no one else,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this weekend, in reference to South Africa’s case brought to the International Court of Justice accusing the country of genocide and seeking emergency measures to halt Israel’s war. The “axis of evil” refers to the Iran-aligned “axis of resistance” groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
Newsweek has contacted Governor Abbott for comment via email.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.