Hundreds get heated at Rep. Mike Flood’s town hall in Lincoln

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — Nebraskans crowded into the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Kimball Recital Hall on Monday evening to bring their questions and concerns to Rep. Mike Flood.

This was Flood’s third and final town hall meeting of the year, and like the others, it was filled with shouting and booing.

One of the biggest concerns was Medicaid work requirements in President Donald Trump’s recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill.

“The people who are going to be most affected by this are people who don’t have time to go through the red tape,” said Jackson Thatcher, who attended the event.

SEE ALSO: Rep. Mike Flood defends ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ at Seward town hall

Flood said there are a lot of misconceptions surrounding cuts to Medicaid, but he fully stands behind his vote on the subject, saying it specifically benefits Nebraska.

“I voted for the bill because the state directed payment system, while reduced a little bit, still meant $700 to Nebraska hospitals,” he said. “Work requirements in a state with 3% unemployment and lower doesn’t worry me a bit. And not giving benefits to illegal immigrants, that’s been our law since 2008, since I was the speaker of the legislature. So for my standpoint, when I say I protected Medicaid, I feel like it.”

Before the doors opened, hundreds of people were lined up outside the building, as seen in a video on the NOW Local News App.

The meeting was scheduled to end at 6 p.m. but ran well over as questions kept coming with loud approval and disapproval.

Many accused Flood of standing on the sidelines too often instead of listening to the needs of the state.

“Why are they so silent?” Jake Jacobi said of representatives like Flood. “I’ve read a number of books on fascism and authoritarianism; it’s happening here in this country today. It’s not coming, it’s here. We have a saying: Silence is complicity. If you don’t speak out, you’re going along.”

SEE ALSO: Nebraska Rep. Mike Flood’s town hall devolves into shouting, standoffs between attendees

Flood responded by saying his main goal will always be to protect Nebraskans.

“I went out and shook as many hands as I could from the minute these doors, before they opened, and I talked to people directly,” Flood said. “I told them, ‘Come see me in the office.’ I think it’s important.”