Congressman Hank Johnson of Georgia held a town hall Monday night when a member of the Campaign for Liberty decided to ask a very pertinent question:

The session was in its final few minutes when the “big confrontation” happened. While the “critics” had been booing, cheering, and heckling Johnson and others from the floor the whole time (and the whole audience was certainly guilty of applausing and cheering out of turn), it was not until C4Ler Sean Mangieri bellowed out “where in the Constitution does it authorize you to do this?” that some sort of invisible line was crossed. Johnson began responding, fumbling a bogus justification that the “general welfare clause” gives the government authority to do anything, but apparently the order had been given. The police came over and tapped me on the shoulder, apparently thinking it was me who had made the remark; to which I said “I didn’t say anything.” Various people in the audience pointed to Sean, who was sitting next to me, and he was “tapped out” by the police. However, they returned anyway and told me I had to go as well and this was my “last chance”. When I protested again that I didn’t say anything, the reply was “it doesn’t matter, they want you out.” Two other people we know were thrown out in this sweep as well, one of whom had just been “warned” not to shout any more comments, but was ejected without having said anything additional.

Here’s audio of the incident in question:

Congressman Johnson’s rambling answer citing the Preamble as somehow granting some additional power to Congress beyond those set forth in Article I, Section 8 is deemed to have little merit:

United States v. Boyer, 85 F. 425, 430–31 (W.D. Mo. 1898) (“The preamble never can be resorted to, to enlarge the powers confided to the general government, or any of its departments. It cannot confer any power per se. It can never amount, by implication, to an enlargement of any power expressly given. It can never be the legitimate source of any implied power, when otherwise withdrawn from the constitution. Its true office is to expound the nature and extent and application of the powers actually conferred by the constitution, and not substantively to create them.” (quoting 1 J OSEPH S TORY , C OMMENTARIES ON THE C ONSTITUTION OF THE U NITED S TATES § 462 (1833))

Right or wrong, though, it’s a sad day in America when someone who asks their representative to justify a massive assumption of Federal power is not only denied a proper answer, but removed by the police.