United States

Protesters Boo House Speaker Paul Ryan on Visit to NYC Charter School

House Speaker Paul Ryan was greeted with jeers and boos when he visited the Success Academy charter school in Harlem Tuesday.

The Wisconsin Republican did not speak with reporters Tuesday as he slipped into the Success Academy charter school in Harlem. The school is run by Eva Moskowitz, who was considered for the post of U.S. secretary of education. 

Some protesters were lined up outside the school as the car carrying Ryan pulled up and the speaker quickly walked out and into the school amid shouts of "Shame! Shame! Shame!"

The demonstrators were complaining about the GOP legislation to repeal and replace Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act. They're also against charter schools, and criticized Ryan for only visiting Success Academy and not the public school that shares the same building. 

The crowd of protesters barricaded across the street grew as they held signs, beat drums and chanted things like "Health care for all, not just for Paul" and "Paul Ryan don't care" while police officers fanned out across the street and stood watch.

The Harlem school is part of a network of 41 Success Academy charter schools run by former New York City Council member Eva Moskowitz.

The schools have won praise for students' high standardized test scores. But they've weathered controversies including a leaked video that showed a teacher disciplining a student harshly.

Moskowitz, a Democrat, announced in November that she was taking herself out of the running to serve as education secretary in Trump's Republican administration.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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