Devin Nunes met by about 300 angry protesters upon returning to his California district

The embattled congressman avoided the mob in Fresno, California.

ByABC News
April 1, 2017, 3:11 AM

— -- Embattled Republican congressman Devin Nunes was met by about 300 angry protesters when he returned to his California district on Friday for a speaking engagement.

The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee has been scrutinized for his handling of the investigation into Russian meddling of the presidential election.

Nunes spoke at the Ag Lenders Society's annual meeting in Fresno at Tornino's Banquet Hall, where he was ushered in and out, successfully avoiding hundreds of protesters who had lined the street outside the venue, according to The Associated Press.

Armed with signs that read, "Get out of bed with Trump," "What are you hiding #Russia," "Nunes step down now," and "Recuse or replace Nunes," Nunes' detractors were very vocal about their disdain for him.

"Come out and play, Nunes, you coward," shouted one man with a megaphone, The AP reported.

Linking Nunes with President Trump was a key point for the protesters, one of whom carried a sign that read, "Congressman Nunes, we need a guard dog not a lap dog."

Protester Betsy Cambareri told ABC affiliate KFSN, "Devin Nunes' behavior, he's not working for the people. He's working for the President and that's not his job, he's here for us and I feel his complicity in what's going down."

Amd protester Annaliese Herms told The Associated Press, "We need people to investigate who actually have an interest in an independent investigation."

Nunes is under fire for going to Trump after a secret intelligence briefing before reporting his findings to his committee. Nunes' foes have accused him of stalling and diverting attention away from the investigation into the Trump administration's possible ties to Russia.

Prior to speaking at the meeting, Nunes spoke with KFSN reporter Gene Haagenson, who asked, "when will your committee get back in business?"

Nunes responded, "We haven't stopped. We haven't stopped, that's what I'm saying. This is not... that is not a true statement. We have had investigators working every single day on this issue."

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