Newt Gingrich interrupted by "Occupy" protesters

Newt Gingrich had just kicked off a speech at the University of Iowa on Wednesday when he heard the phrase that has now become a familiar calling card of the "Occupy" movement: "Mic check!"

The woman who yelled out the phrase went on to yell that she and her fellow protesters "object to your callous and arrogant attitude toward poverty and poor people." Her words were repeated by about a dozen protesters in the audience.

As Gingrich stood silently, she continued to lead the protest as members of the audience become agitated, including one man who pointed angrily and yelled at the lead protester, who was reading from a sheet of paper. The protester went on to reference Gingrich's record as House speaker, saying the protesters can't forget his position "that welfare benefits to children and unwed mothers be denied."

After the woman was removed from the event, a male protester - also reading off a piece of paper - continued leading the protest. An angry member of the crowd can be heard shouting toward the protester, "you hate freedom of speech."

When that protester was removed, someone asked "how many people want to hear Mr. Gingrich speak today," prompting loud applause as a number of audience members raised their hands.

Gingrich, who initially didn't seem to realize what was happening -- he said "what's wrong?" -- waited silently for about two minutes for the protest to end. He then said he "was glad to come to the University of Iowa because I was sure that your tradition of actually having intellectual discourse..." before trailing off as a protester continued to yell. He also called the protests "part of the price of freedom."

Gingrich was beginning remarks on increasing support for research on brain science and Alzheimer's disease when the protest began. The protesters also complained of Gingich's alleged "vilification of people as shiftless and unwilling to work" and also complained of his "disgusting" proposal to "bring back child labor."

The Los Angeles Times reports that no one was arrested at the event, and that the protesters self-identified as members of the "Occupy" movement.

The activist hacker group Anonymous released a video last monthcalling on Americans to "occupy the campaign offices of presidential headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa on December 27 and peacefully shut down the first-in-the-nation Iowa Caucuses on January 3."

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad said he was taking the threat "very seriously," stating that "it would be tragic if some shadowy group that won't even announce who they are would be successful in preventing people from participating in this first real test in the presidential selection process."