(Emphasis added.)
Anti-abortion protestors heckle Obama
From NBC’s Lee Cowan and NBC/NJ’s Aswini Anburajan
[Rochester, N.H.] Obama was heckled from the balcony of a theater here. A group of about 10 protestors began to chant “Abortion is abomination.” The audience in turn began to shout, “Obama! Obama!” And in the top balcony many started screaming at the protestors telling them to shut up.
Obama from the stage said, “Guys! Guys!” Initially he told the protestors, “I’ll talk to you afterwards.”
The scene escalated with angry shouts from the audience directed toward the protestors telling them to, “Shut up, go home.” And one man even screamed, “Kill the babies!” An older gentleman put his head down and stuck his hands in his ears. It was unpleasant on both sides.
The police came after about five minutes and were greeted with cheers by the audience. The protestors voluntarily left, chanting the entire time. When the hecklers had left, Obama joked, “Excitement is over, or maybe it’s just beginning.”
And he said, “Let me just say this though. Some people got organized to do that. That’s part of the American tradition we are proud of. And that’s hard too, standing in the midst of people who disagree with you and letting your voice be heard.”