Audience Sings 'Na, Na, Na, Hey, Hey,' As Protesters Are Kicked Out Of Casten Town Hall

EVERGREEN, IL — Congressman Sean Casten made a rare foray from his home base in DuPage into Cook County since the IL-06 Congressional District was redrawn to host an in-person town hall in Evergreen Park.

Before a packed meeting room at the Hamilton B. Maher Community Center last Thursday, Casten told the audience that he has no plans to run for fellow Democrat Dick Durbin’s Senate seat — yet.

The town hall was marked by intermittent interruptions by a group of pro-Palestinian activists who have been trolling all of Casten's town halls, including last month’s aborted meeting in Downers Grove, and another in Darien last October.

Five of those same protesters were swiftly escorted out of the room by Evergreen Park police officers when they disrupted the meeting.

A pro-Palestine protester is led out of US Rep. Sean Casten's town hall.

Casten discussed steps that House democrats are taking to preserve the U.S. Constitution, as undocumented persons and U.S. citizens are being deported without due process.

“We try not talk about things that sound partisan,” Casten said. “But there are things that should never be partisan that have become partisan, like the Constitution. The Fifth Amendment is very clear about the right to due process.”

“What about the mental health of the children of Gaza,” an audience member interrupted. “What about the people in Gaza. What about their due process?”

“I ask you respectfully,” Casten said. “There will be time for questions.”

“Why did you vote for $17 billion in military aid to Israel,” the man shouted as police escorted him out of the meeting room.

Some audience members sang “na, na, na, hey, hey” as he and other protesters were being led out.

And another woman confronted the congressman with her own bullhorn.

Casten discussed a bill he co-sponsored with U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (MI-14), the Taxpayer Data Protection Act, to stop the misuse of Americans’ personal data by DOGE head Elon Musk.

“It’s a simple bill that you cannot get access to the U.S. Treasury unless you have top secret clearance,” the congressman said. “[House Speaker] Mike Johnson hasn’t called this bill for a vote.”

Casten also fielded questions about the polarized nation, and if democrats were reaching across the aisle to their Republican colleagues.

He approved of Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen travelling to meet with Kilmar Arego Garcia, a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador. Trump Administration officials have continued to push back against an order by the U. S. Supreme Court to bring back Arego Garcia to the United States.

“We had to make sure we had proof of life,” Casten said. “At the same time, it’s embarrassing for us as a country that a senator has to do what all our agencies are refusing to do.”

A pro-Palestine protester is led out of US Rep. Sean Casten's town hall.

He also addressed tariffs and cautioned of a summer of scarcity. CEOs of Walmart, Target and Home Depot have said they are two weeks away from being unable to replace inventory, because of tariffs. He said to expect consumer prices to rise even higher.

“Not to be inflammatory, but what are your views on Gaza,” an audience member asked.

Casten responded that there is a growing distrust in “big chunks of Congress” that alt-right, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s unwillingness to engage in negotiations for a peace deal with the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. Casten expressed that he is “really jacked” about the bombing of Gaza, and supports two fully autonomous states between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

He also defended his voting record on military aid to Israel.

“I voted against packages when it wasn’t tied with material for Gaza,” Casten said. “I voted against some of the extensions and to not provide 2000-pound bombs with blasts covering four football fields. That’s not a surgical precision mark.”

An audience member commented that she “felt like we’re in 1930's Germany and the brown shirts are taking people away.”

“I’ve been talking about politics more than I ever have. I write postcards, I hold a sign, what more can we do?”

Casten mentioned his recent out-of-district town halls to central and southern Illinois in GOP-led congressional districts, “not because I’m running for the senate.” He called those town halls “sad and uplifting at the same time.”

“In the very deep red parts of Illinois, they are just as concerned about the same issues as we are up here,” Casten said. “I want to make sure folks in other parts of the state who aren’t hearing this from their [congress] members have a chance to hear and ask questions.

The congressman ended the meeting on an optimistic note.

“Keep in mind, as nervous as we all feel about the state of our government in Washington right now, take hope and optimism from the fundamental decent characteristics of our friends and neighbors. If we stand up and fight for what we have, we’re going to keep it,” Casten said to applause.

Meanwhile, outside in the parking lot, most of the people who were kicked out of the town hall as well as other pro-Palestinian activists were not applauding. They followed the congressman, who stared straight ahead, as he walked to his car surrounded by Evergreen Park police officers.

“You need to be ashamed of yourself," the leader of the group bellowed through a bullhorn. "If you run for senate, we’ll be at every fundraiser and town hall event that you put forward. You can’t hide from your constituents.”

Pro-Palestinian protestors confront Congressman Seans Casten after his town hall. Video courtesy of William Beaulieu