By Trang Do

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Former President Bill Clinton received a rock star welcome at the Dolores Emanuel Recreation Center in East Mount Airy, where a crowd of about 450 people gathered to hear him speak.

“I owe Philadelphia a lot,” he said. “This city voted for me in record numbers the last time I ran. Voted for me in 1992. enabled me to carry Pennsylvania twice.”

Clinton is hoping Philly and Pennsylvania will show his wife Hillary that same love come the April 26th primary.

“She has the best ideas and she is the best changemaker,” he said.

His speech was running smoothly until two protesters emerged from the crowd holding up signs criticizing the passage of the 1994 crime bill, when Clinton was president.

“I heard it. Can I answer?” Clinton asked the protester. “Here’s the thing, I like protesters, but the ones who don’t let you answer are afraid of the truth, that’s a simple rule. Be afraid!”

Protester Erica Mines said she wasn’t interested in hearing the president’s explanation that the bill was effective in lowering the crime rate.

“The systematic racism that exists, in our laws and in our policies in the formation of this country, has to be abolished,” she said. “We cannot reform, we cannot fix something that was automatically geared to criminalize people of color.”

For Hillary supporters, the disruption was upsetting, but didn’t dampen their enthusiasm for their candidate of choice.

“To see Bill Clinton in person was so amazing and to have someone scream through the whole thing was really heartbreaking for us,” said Sarah Adams, who brought her three children to see Clinton. “My kids just wanted to see a president speaking and all the ruckus was really upsetting to me.”

“I would like to make history to be the first woman president,” said Carol Troutman of Willow Grove. “Not because she’s a woman, but because she is ready on day one to be our commander-in-chief.”

President Clinton headed to Scranton for a similar event. He’ll be in Erie campaigning on Friday.