U.S. Rep. Cory Mills was greeted by a chorus of angry "boos" as the Republlican entered the Oviedo Cultural Center for a town hall meeting on Thursday evening.
Outside the building, a crowd of demonstrators grew – many of them turned away as the building reached capacity. The meeting followed a town hall in Volusia County on Wednesday, where the congressman was also met with boos from the crowd.
Since 2023, Mills has represented Florida's 7th Congressional District, which stretches from Orlando to Daytona Beach and includes St. Augustine.
Those who made it into the city center peppered Mills with a variety of questions, including a man who asked if Mills was benefiting from military contracts with the federal government, referring to Pacem Defense LLC, a private defense company co-founded by Mills. The congressman said his company was nearly bankrupt.
"Because I voted against funding to go to wars in Ukraine," he said. "So actually, to the contrary, I've actually lost tremendously in this deal, but I enjoy coming up here and being yelled at for absolutely no money at all."
Demonstrators outside included a mix of local Democrats who don't approve of Mills' support of President Donald Trump and the administration's policies.
There were also Republicans disapproving of Mills' headline-grabbing scandals. Last year, a Florida court granted a protective order on Mills after his ex-girlfriend alleged the congressman threatened her with revenge porn.
Mills is also under investigation by a House Committee of Ethics for a number of issues, including whether he violated campaign finance laws, received special favors because of his position and misused congressional resources.
Dave Morris, an Oviedo resident and registered Republican, attended the town hall but couldn't get inside. When the congressman arrived, he called Mills an "oathbreaker" and demended he step down.
"I haven't voted for him before. He's not a good person, and that's not who I want to represent me, regardless of political party," he said.
As demonstrators continued chanting outside, Mills fended off a bombardment of questions inside, including whether he could stand by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. This month, protests around the country erupted after ICE agents shot and killed Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minnesota.
"Our federal [immigration] officers, they should be doing exactly what they're doing, which is going to the extent of the law, to clean our streets up and guarantee safety for everyday Americans," he said.
When asked, Mills saud he supported an investigation into the shootings.
Mills also shared several confrontational exchanges with the crowd, including one man who took issue with Mills' stance on the removal of Venezuelan President Nicholás Maduro.
"I didn't realize how many people were family and friends of the drug cartel," Mills said.
The man responded with a "bless your heart."
"You're the kind of guy I really like. You have a nice beard, but it's all keyboard courage, and it's all backed by nothing," Mills said.
Mills concluded the meeting by referring to Trump's immigration policy and ICE.
"We're going to continue to try and clean up the streets, secure our borders, increase our economy, protect our men and women, and guarantee that those who serve in this nation," he said.
Winter Springs residents Scott and Linda Freeburn were inside the town hall. They're registered Republicans and came out to hear Mills, hoping he could clear the air and the allegations surrounding him.
Scott said he was impressed with the congressman's ability to remain poised in the face of angry constituents and yelling and in awe of Mills' accomplishments. But he said he's left with disappointment.
"It sounds like he's done an awful lot for his constituents in the four years that he's been here. He's just got some personal things in his life that just aren't so cool with us," Scott said.
Linda was less impressed.
"I had voted for Cory Mills before, but this time around, with stuff that's happened recently, (I'm) really questioning it," she said.
Mills is up for reelection this year. Florida's 7th district has eight challengers to Mills' seat, including two Republicans.
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