From Staff Reports 

HENDERSONVILLE N.C.— U.S. Vice President JD Vance led a campaign rally at Hyder Warehouse at 142 Chestnut Gap Road in Hendersonville on Oct. 19 to support Republican candidates ahead of the midterm elections.

Key details of the event are as follows:

• Location: Hyder Warehouse along Chestnut Gap Road in Hendersonville.

• Attendance: An estimated 200 to 300 supporters packed the venue.

• Featured candidates: Vance campaigned for state Representative Jennifer Balkcom, who is running for North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District; and Michael Whatley, who is running for the open U.S. Senate seat. (Whatley and Democrat Roy Cooper are competing for the seat being vacated by Republican Sen. Thom Tillis.)

• Guest speakers: U.S. Senator Ted Budd and other state and federal Republican leaders also spoke at the event, as did Balkcom and Whatley.

• Focus: Vance emphasized backing local law enforcement, improving jobs and wages, and supporting candidates aligned with an “America First” platform.

Meanwhile, as Vance began his address in Hendersonville, 19-year-old Victor Quebrado Perez, a rally attendee,  stood up directly behind the stage and shouted, “Release the Epstein files!” and “God bless our children!”

Following is a summary of what happened during the disruption:

• The interruption: Quebrado Perez, a first-generation U.S. citizen born and raised in Hendersonville, stood up in a plain gray T-shirt behind the vice president and yelled his message while the crowd chanted “USA!”.

• Vance’s remark: In response to the heckler, Vance quipped from the stage, “I said that we have had zero illegal border crossings in the United States of America — but one isn’t bad,” implying the protester was an undocumented immigrant.

• Removal by security: Security and law enforcement escorted Quebrado Perez out of the venue. He was briefly directed through a secure backstage area stopped by the Secret Service before being brought out through the main entrance and told he was trespassing.

• Aftermath: Quebrado Perez later stated he is a lifelong North Carolina native who did not intend to cause division, while Vance dismissed the protester as a political prop.

Later, Quebrado Perez reportedly told The (Raleigh) News & Observer that he spoke out because he felt frustrated by standard political messaging and believed transparency regarding the Epstein files should be a bipartisan priority to hold officials accountable.

Regarding the rally’s optics, some observers and local coverage noted what they described as a sparse crowd and verbal stumbles during the campaign event.