US Representative Adam Smith, the senior Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said he has been unable to hold an in-person town hall for more than a year because of threats and harassment from anti-Israel activists. Speaking to the programme Breaking Points, he described the issue as his main concern with parts of the political left, arguing that intimidation had limited his ability to meet constituents publicly.

Smith, a Democrat representing Washington state, made the comments in an interview published on 21 July. The article presents his remarks as part of wider tensions within the Democratic Party over Israel and the war in Gaza, though the supplied text does not provide details of specific threats or identify the activists involved.