GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- As U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, R-Cascade Township, walked out onto the school auditorium stage, hundreds of eyeballs were fixed on him.

"I think we're going to have to get a bigger auditorium next time," Amash said. "VanAndel Arena, maybe?"

Amash chose City High Middle School because the auditorium seats 595, more than double the capacity of the auditorium that packed in a standing-room-only crowd at his January town hall.

Yet, as empty seats rapidly disappeared, a few dozen were forced to stand against the back wall of the auditorium at Amash's Thursday, Feb. 9, town hall.

Outside, fists pounded relentlessly at the locked glass doors while faces contorted with frustrated expressions looked in at police officers and school officials, who stood with arms crossed. Many expressed confusion at why -- though they arrived 10 minutes early and had to park and walk from blocks away -- they were being denied entry to a public meeting.

For those who attended the town hall on Jan. 17 at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, there was a sense of deja vu. Scores were turned away at the door after that auditorium's 252-person capacity was met.

The congressman's staff expressed surprise as, again, the crowd exceeded the venue's capacity limits.

If the audience at January's town hall was argumentative, this month's was downright surly.

From the chorus of "boos" unfurled when Amash said he supports repealing the Affordable Care Act to the cheers when a resident asked the congressman to demand President Donald Trump's tax return, there was no question the Republican faced a group with opposing political viewpoints.

While many in the crowd came independently to express their viewpoints and ask questions on issues close to their heart, others were part of a more organized effort to oppose the new presidential administration.

Christine Lewis, director of Michigan People's Campaign in West Michigan, explained that bringing the fight to individual members of Congress at town halls like Thursday's is one strategy of the resistance movement formed in the wake of President Donald Trump's election.

"We're in a very different moment right now where people want to stand up and yell and we have to be in an auditorium space, because people are pissed," Lewis said. "The Resist Trump movement -- the whole strategy is that we are able to resist Trump's agenda by targeting our local Congress people to resist him."

Michele DeVoe Lussky, an organizer with West Michigan Indivisible, distributed packets of information and questions to those walking in Thursday. Lussky said she saw at least 40 people in the crowd associated with the group, which has helped organize events and demonstrations in the wake of Trump's election and inauguration.

"It took us two weeks to get 1,000 followers," she said. "Why? Because when you start taking away our basic civil rights. I have a child who has autism. How is he going to be protected? How, under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, are his equal rights going to be protected when we don't even have a Department of Education?

"We have all kinds of people now who have come out of the woodwork because they realize that our basic human rights are under peril."

By helping people voice strong, consistent opposition to Amash's support of policy initiatives like dismantling the Department of Education and repealing the Affordable Care Act, groups like Lewis' and Lussky's are hopeful their local, grassroots effort can disrupt those initiatives at a national level.

That anger and frustration fueling that effort was palpable inside the school auditorium Thursday.

Amash's responses to questions were often met by attempts from the audience to shout him down.

When an education professional stood up to say she and many of her colleagues are unhappy with Betsy DeVos' confirmation as secretary of education, Amash's support of the new cabinet member was less than popular.

"She has been active on education issues for a long time," Amash said. "It's good to have diversity of thought, and I think she'll do a good job reaching out to people on both sides."

"Ridiculous," a voice yelled from the back.

Much like he did during January's town hall, Amash began Thursday's by talking about the danger of approaching important issues with an inflexible partisan ideology.

"When people get really partisan, we tend to lose sight of the facts," he said.

Amash said a lot is going wrong in the nation's capital right now, to which he received thunderous applause. But when he went on to say a lot went wrong when a Democrat was in the White House, the "boos" drowned out a few stray cheers.

"There we go with the partisanship," Amash said. "That's an example of my point."

Though a few chuckled when he pointed out the division on display, issue after issue illustrated the clear divide between the conservative congressman and mostly-liberal audience.

When Amash stood behind his argument for dissolving the Department of Education, several voices shouted in opposition.

Others were more civil in their approach.

Paul Bonis, a former area hospital president, chatted politely with Amash at the meeting's conclusion, discussing a potential one-on-one meeting.

Bonis stood up during the forum to say, based on his background as a healthcare professional, that he knew firsthand the benefit the Affordable Care Act had for many seeking care from his former employer. He pleaded with Amash to, regardless of the fate of the federal healthcare law, fight to ensure that at least the preexisting condition provision is sustained.

"It scares me to death about what's going to happen to all of those children and all of those elderly," Bonis said. "Whatever new Trumpcare or new healthcare law is passed, I believe, needs to contain those two sentences to protect people's rights to be able to not be discriminated against in obtaining health insurance because they have a preexisting condition."

First elected to Congress in 2010, Amash won reelection to a fourth term in November 2016.

He represents Michigan's 3rd congressional district, which stretches from Albion in the south to Sand Lake in the north and includes all or portions of Barry, Calhoun, Ionia, Kent and Montcalm counties.

Despite the obvious disagreements, many standing up to ask questions on Thursday thanked the congressman for holding the public town hall meetings and for listening to their questions and concerns.

For his part, Amash expressed devotion to the idea despite the fact that few venues seem big enough to accommodate the crowds drawn to his events this year.

"I think it is critical that members of Congress hold in-person town halls like this," he said, perhaps in a veiled reference to criticism another West Michigan congressman has received after issues stemming from a recent "telephone town hall."

"There aren't enough of people on either side of the aisle who do it," Amash said. "That's a shame."

About a half hour past the scheduled ending time, he closed the meeting by returning the thanks received from many in the audience.

"Thank you for making this a part of your day and encouraging others to attend as well," he said. "We need this in our community. Thanks."