This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz is thought to love nothing more than being the center of attention.

Tonight may have cured him of that alleged affliction. He received lots of attention from national new websites for this rowdy town hall meeting. Little of it good.

(Note that much of the national coverage is drawn, with varying degrees of credit, from The Salt Lake Tribune's reporting.)

Chaffetz presides over Utah town hall amid demands of 'explain yourself' — Courtney Tanner | The Salt Lake Tribune

"Rep. Jason Chaffetz tried to respond to questions, but many of his answers went unheard. The din of the hostile and harassing audience that filled the 1,000 seats of a high school auditorium Thursday night drowned him out.

" 'Explain yourself,' they roared over him.

When the congressman did get a chance to speak, the crowd often didn't like what he had to say. And he knew it. ..."

Rowdy crowd meets Chaffetz at town hall in Cottonwood Heights — Katie England | Provo Daily Herald

"Many of the 1,000-plus people who packed Brighton High School on Thursday night for a town hall with U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Alpine, held double-sided signs reading 'Agree' and 'Disagree.'

"The 'Disagree' side was pointed his direction far more often. ..."

"Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz was home in his district Thursday night to hold a town hall at a high school in the suburbs of Salt Lake City. It did not go well. The crowd well exceeded the auditorium's 1,000-person capacity and the event kicked off to chants of "kick him out!" (re: Chaffetz) mixed with "let them in!" (re: the some 1,000 person overflow crowd locked out of the event). The crowd that did make it inside roiled with anger, asking pointed questions on the possible repeal of the Affordable Care Act, violence against women, Chaffetz's refusal, as the GOP chairman of the House oversight committee, to investigate President Trump's apparent conflicts of interest and Russian election meddling, as well as his stated desire to sell off local public lands. ..."

Raucous Town Hall In Utah Blasts GOP Rep. Chaffetz Over Trump — Mary Papenfuss | Huffington Post

"Hundreds of jeering, shouting, angry voters, jam-packed in a high school auditorium, lashed GOP Rep. Jason Chaffetz at his town hall meeting in the heart of red-state Utah.

"Chaffetz was frequently drowned out by boos at Brighton High School, in a Salt Lake City suburb, over the course of Thursday night's meeting, which he cut short. He was booed when he walked on stage, and he was often booed when he mentioned the name 'Trump.' ..."

— Hundreds chant "Do your job!" at House Republican in charge of investigating Trump — Jeff Stein | Vox

" ... "It looks like the more than 1,000 people who showed up at the Brighton High School Thursday night want him to do more. Videos show attendees demanding Chaffetz explain his "line in the sand" for Trump and loudly booing Chaffetz for saying he doesn't believe Trump should release his tax returns. ..."

Chaffetz booed at rowdy town hall — Elana Schor | Politico

" ... In a high school auditorium crowded with protesters, with hundreds of others reportedly denied entry to the jammed room, Chaffetz struggled at times to justify his lack of interest in probing President Donald Trump's potential conflicts of interest, Trump's controversial restrictions on immigration from seven majority-Muslim nations, and other White House decisions. ..."

Protesters swarm Chaffetz town hall — Mark Hensch | The Hill

" ... 'If you want to continue to look into [2016 Democratic presidential nominee] Hillary Clinton, I don't care,' an attendee named Noor Ul-Hasan asked Chaffetz, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. 'But why aren't you checking out your own president?'..."

Hundreds Confront Congressman Jason Chaffetz at Rowdy Utah Town Hall — Margaret Hartmann | New York Magazine

" ... More than one thousand people showed up to Chaffetz's town hall in Cottonwood Heights, a Salt Lake City suburb, to question the congressman on his failure to investigate the president, his support for Trump's controversial executive orders, and his efforts to repeal the Obama order establishing Bears Ears National Monument in southern Utah. ..."

Chaffetz faces harsh criticism during packed town hall — Hallie Golden and Michelle L. Price | Associated Press | Via Deseret News

Same article in The Chicago Tribune

Elsewhere:

Republican Justin Amash rejected the defensive crouch many in his party have assumed in response to liberal demonstrators.