Editor's Note: This story was updated March 28 to include responses from law enforcement about an alleged swatting incident at Rep. Hageman's home.
Wyoming’s lone U.S. representative is changing her town halls from in-person to virtual. This comes after Rep. Harriet Hageman held a couple of in-person ones in the southern region of the state last week.
In a press release, Hageman said her decision comes from recent incidents at public events, credible threats to herself and national outbursts of politically motivated violence.
“As the saying goes, ‘This is why we can’t have nice things,’” she wrote. “I am proud of my record of holding dozens and dozens of town halls – 75 of them in just three years, at least three times in each of Wyoming’s 23 counties. And the only times we have had any problems with safety have been at two of the six held in the last week.”
One of those public events was the Laramie town hall on March 19, where attendees filled the auditorium. At times, people shouted and booed when Hageman answered questions, like when she was asked how she was going to protect the rights of transgender and non-binary Wyomingites.
“I don’t even know what that means,” replied Hageman. The crowd responded with loud jeers and boos.
Hageman said her staff experienced a physical confrontation with an attendant at her Wheatland town hall the day after Laramie. WPR has reached out to the Wheatland Police Department for confirmation but had not received a response by publication.
WPR was at that town hall and reported attendees were mostly in support of Hageman, except for a couple who brought up Elon Musk and DOGE.
“Right now, we have an unelected billionaire,” one woman started saying, but was stopped by the crowd booing and yelling, “Get out.”
Hageman also said her Cheyenne home was involved in a swatting incident. That’s when someone calls in a false police report to draw an armed law enforcement response. These incidents can be dangerous and even deadly for the residents of the targeted home or building.
The Laramie County Sheriff’s Office and Cheyenne Police Department were not aware of any such incidents over the past month.
Hageman's office said the matter is "currently the subject of an active investigation under the jurisdiction of the United States Capitol Police," adding there's no additional information at this time.
The U.S. Capitol Police shared this statement in response to WPR's questions about swatting and other intimidation aimed at Hageman: “Anytime a Member of Congress is the victim of a 'swatting' incident, we work closely with our local and federal law enforcement partners. To protect ongoing investigations and to minimize the risk of copy-cats, we cannot provide more details at this time.”
Hageman also said her offices have received numerous threatening phone calls and emails that are being investigated by law enforcement.
“For the time being, our town halls will be conducted in a safe virtual environment or in a tele-town hall format, until such time as it seems safe to resume in-person events,” Hageman said. “And because of that, I am formally calling on Sen. [Chuck] Schumer and his leadership counterpart in the House, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, to denounce their party’s organized disruptors and crime. A failure to do so will only further confirm that the left’s radical tactics are no longer on the fringe but the mainstay of the Democratic party and prove once again their disdain for the First Amendment and legitimate political discourse. It is time for them to demand that their partisans stop threatening and intimidating people and causing actual violence before someone gets seriously injured or killed.”
There was a demonstration organized by the local Laramie Democratic Party before the town hall. But no altercations were reported.
“The fact is, when leaders ignore or dismiss their constituents, avoid tough questions, or stoke division with inflammatory rhetoric, they create an environment of frustration and distrust,” wrote the Wyoming Democratic Party in response to Hageman’s decision to move town halls online. “That’s not solved by retreating behind virtual filters—it’s solved by rebuilding trust, showing up, and answering questions honestly. Let us be clear: The Wyoming Democratic Party does not condone violence, threats, or harassment of any kind. Elected officials and their staff should be safe, and we support investigations into any such incidents. But protest is not violence. It is a fundamental right protected by the Constitution. Using peaceful dissent as an excuse to avoid public accountability does a disservice to the people of Wyoming, their voices should matter.”
Hageman’s town halls in Cheyenne and Torrington on Friday and Saturday will be held virtually. Laramie County residents may sign up here and Goshen County residents may sign up here.
