Protesters interrupted an event Wednesday that was meant to promote Mayor Pete Buttigieg's relationship with the Black community in his hometown of South Bend, Indiana. 

Buttigieg, who is running for president in the 2020 democratic primary, did not attend the event but did have seven local politicians, pastors and activists there to speak on his behalf. Sharon McBride, a South Bend city council member who joined him on the campaign trail in South Carolina earlier this week, was addressing the crowd when a man began to heckle her from the audience. 


“Who chose these people as the Black leaders?” he asked. “Who organized this? Why are you talking about Pete Buttigieg?”

Buttigieg has faced criticism from activists for his handling of a police involved shooting that took place in South Bend during his tenure as mayor. An exchange Buttigieg had with a protester made headlines after he was stopped outside of a town hall event he hosted for concerned residents. 

One protester asked Buttigieg, "You running for president and you expect black people to vote for you?" He responded by saying he was not "asking" for the protester's vote, to which another protester said, "You ain’t gonna get it, either.”

Staffers and supporters of the Buttigieg campaign took to social media to express their concern for how Black Buttigieg supporters are treated when they announce their allegiance. 

“This is what Black folks who support Pete experience all the time on Twitter,” Buttigieg’s traveling press secretary, Nina Smith, tweeted. “White men, grabbing the mic, insulting us, calling us ‘uppity’ ‘purchased’ and ‘tokens’ all in support of certain white male candidates. Careful YOUR racism is showing.”

In the latest Hill-Harris poll, Buttigieg received only 1% of support from the Black community. 

2020-Democratic-PrimaryBlack-VoteBlack-votersMayor-Pete-ButtigiegSharon-McBride