Congressman Walberg attends rally to thank supporters, protestors react    

NILES, Mich. — Michigan fifth district Republican congressman, Tim Walberg, stopped by a rally Monday to thank a group that's been hosting events in support of local elected officials since March.

Congressman Walberg only stayed for a few minutes and declined an interview with ABC57 and several other local media outlets.

The rally was held at Veterans Memorial Park because there was a protest happening outside of Walberg's downtown Niles office.

Those protestors, led by the "Coalition 4 Democracy", have been asking to hear from Walberg since February, and claim that they've heard little to no response in the past eight months.

Rally-goers were frustrated to hear that the congressman was nearby, but didn't stop to meet with protestors.

While Congressman Walberg wasn't available for an interview, he did share a statement Monday afternoon addressing his brief meeting and the ongoing government shutdown:

"Over a month ago, House Republicans acted responsibly and passed a clean, short-term, and nonpartisan funding bill. However, Senate Democrats have now voted 10 times against this commonsense deal, which would turn the lights back on and provide certainty for hardworking Americans, including residents of Michigan’s 5th District, who are paying the price for Democrats’ political games. Earlier today. I hosted a roundtable at my office with veterans from the district to discuss how they have been negatively impacted by this prolonged shutdown and provide them with available resources during this difficult time. Afterward, I had the chance to meet with folks protesting the shutdown, who understand it’s time for common sense to prevail and for Senate Democrats to bring this avoidable shutdown to an end.” — Congressman, Tim Walberg.