FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 1, 2025
Contact: media@northwestvalleyindivisible.org
Surprise, AZ — Constituents from Arizona’s 8th District gathered once again Monday morning outside Rep. Abraham Hamadeh’s district office to demand a public town hall—and were met, for the fourth week in a row, by a tow truck positioned to intimidate and deter participation. This follows last week’s incident in which a senior constituent’s vehicle was towed without warning during a peaceful demonstration. At the same time, a Trump supporter parked in the same lot harassed attendees and disrupted first responders providing emergency medical care—but his vehicle was left untouched. [Video of this man is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC1dwqGYUxk]
Nearly all of the protesters are senior adults, many of whom are deeply concerned about the future of Medicare and Social Security. They have made repeated attempts to share their concerns with Rep. Hamadeh, but instead of listening, he has referred to them as “fake protesters” and “radical leftists”—simply for wanting to communicate with their elected representative. One of Rep. Hamadeh’s staffers, Josh Lyons, explicitly stated Monday that the property owner has demanded the arrest of any protesters who step foot on the property.
“These are intimidation tactics, plain and simple,” said Brent Peak of Northwest Valley Indivisible. “Constituents asking for a meeting with their representative should not have to navigate threats of arrest or towing. If Rep. Hamadeh refuses to intervene, he should find a new office—one that doesn’t treat peaceful protest as a criminal offense.”
For two months now, constituents have repeatedly requested that Rep. Hamadeh hold a public, in-person town hall. He has refused to do so. When over 200 constituents organized their own People’s Town Hall on March 17, Rep. Hamadeh did not attend. His office continues to maintain that a town hall is “in the works.” [Video of the People’s Town Hall can be found at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjUrehCCJs9noaT3A0joPLmKzsETnWqf5]
Northwest Valley Indivisible and local residents will continue protesting peacefully at Hamadeh’s office every Monday at 9:00 a.m.