Pete Buttigieg was interrupted during a campaign rally by Black Lives Matter supporters who questioned his record as South Bend mayor.
Buttigieg was speaking at in Des Moines, Iowa on Sunday (January 12) when demonstrators wearing Black Lives Matter shirts began heckling him with concerns about his past actions.
One person can be heard quizzing the Democrat on his controversial housing record, accusing him of “demolishing hundreds” of homes in the local black community.
WATCH: Pete Buttigieg was interrupted by Black Lives Matter protesters here in Iowa challenging his record as South Bend Mayor—he told them, “I think your facts are a little wrong, so I’d love a chance to talk with you about it, but I’d like for us to talk about it respectfully.” pic.twitter.com/dYO106Jyzz
— DJ Judd (@DJJudd) January 13, 2020
Buttigieg told the protestors: “I think your facts are a little wrong,” and asked for the opportunity to “talk about it respectfully.”
Activists replied: “We’ve been trying tot all to you about this since South Bend Pete, we’ve been trying open that dialogue.”
In return, Buttigieg said: “I’m just troubled because you’re citing information hat’s factually incorrect.”
Supporters began chanting the presidential hopeful’s surname while officials removed the protestors, themselves chanting: “Anti-black, anti-poor.”
Protestors from Black Lives Matter are escorted out, after interrupting tonight’s @PeteButtigieg rally in Des Moines pic.twitter.com/BtEOPfCMLy
— Gary Grumbach (@GaryGrumbach) January 13, 2020
Throughout his campaign, Buttigieg has been pressed on his policing, housing and social justice record as it pertains to South Bend’s black community.
As a result he has struggled to win over black voters with just under three weeks to go until the crucial Iowa caucuses.
A recent nationwide poll by Washington Post-Ipsos gave him just 2 percent of support from black Democrat-leaning voters.
Joe Biden topped the poll with a convincing 48 percent, ahead Bernie Sanders (20 percent), the only other candidate to win double-figure support.
This seems unlikely to affect Buttigieg in the Iowa caucuses. The state is about 91 percent white, and only 4 percent African American.
The final poll before a CNN debate on Tuesday night (January 14) suggests an open four-way race in Iowa between Sanders (20 percent), Elizabeth Warren (17), Buttigieg (16) and Biden (15). The poll’s margin of error was 3.7 percent.