Gov. Phil Murphy was briefly jeered at his town hall meeting Thursday night after a small group of attendees disliked his use of the term “right-wing behavior” to describe recent acts of violence.

The Democratic governor was asked a question at the North Brunswick event about security at houses of worship and other public spaces. Murphy agreed more needs to be done to protect people, saying, “Sadly it’s a sign of the times," calling the “rise of right-wing behavior” and anti-Semitic behavior “jaw-dropping.”

After Murphy cited recent instances of violence, he added: “I hope that we’ll see … right-wing behavior going down and not up.”

His comment prompted Tracey Lore of New Brunswick to interrupt. She said he was wrong to single out “right-wing behavior.”

Her comment got some applause from at least a dozen audience members.

“I appreciate that,” Murphy told Lore. “I don’t mean right politically, but I think a lot of people would accept what I just said is right-wing behavior. It certainly is extremist.”

At least a dozen people jeered the governor while some clapped in support of his comment. One person shouted “communist” at the Democratic governor.

Another man in the audience echoed Lore’s remarks.

“I respect your opinions,” Murphy said in an apparent attempt to diffuse any tension. “I view it differently. I’m not telling you to pound sand.”

After the event ended Lore said she didn’t intend to interrupt the governor, but said she felt compelled.

“I didn’t want to be rude. I didn’t want to say that. I just don’t think it was a fair assessment,” Lore said.

“You need to mention the other groups, like Antifa,” she added, referring to a left-wing anti-fascist group.

Lore, who described herself as a supporter of President Donald Trump, said she thought Murphy’s response “was very fair.”

“I like a lot of what I heard,” she said. “My opinion is a lot less negative of him. It’s now more positive.”

Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewArco or Facebook.

Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips

Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.com’s newsletters.