Signaling how high the stakes have become in Tennessee's U.S. Senate race, seven protesters were forcibly removed Sunday from a campaign event in Davidson County hosted by Republican nominee Marsha Blackburn.

Moments before Blackburn took the stage — which came just nine days before Blackburn squares off against Democrat Phil Bredesen in the Nov. 6 general election — several protesters yelled their opposition to the congressman and were taken from the event.

The interruptions began as Tennessee Republican Party chairman Scott Golden tried to introduce Blackburn, with several protesters loudly objecting. The crowd, many of whom were standing, began chanting "U-S-A, U-S-A" in an effort to drown out the protests.

One woman was physically removed by two men who swept her off her feet and carried her out. Activist Justin Jones, who has protested at several political events in Tennessee, was physically taken to the ground by what appeared to be a law enforcement official. As several people worked to remove Jones, an African-American woman wearing a "Black Lives Matter" T-shirt took a knee in the main aisle of the venue.

Gillum Ferguson, press secretary for the Tennessee Republican Party, later said some of the protesters were quietly asked to leave the event but declined. "They said you're going to have to call the cops and we called the cops," Ferguson said.

When Blackburn began her speech before a crowd of hundreds, she was twice interrupted, resulting in more chants. One woman in a wheelchair was pushed out of the event by Tennessee Republican Party spokeswoman Candice Dawkins. During a moment of silence for the victims of a recent mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue, another woman yelled "Marsha Blackburn is a white supremacist."

Ward Baker, Blackburn's campaign strategist, said he heard another person who was also removed yell "Impeach Trump."

As the crowd quieted, Blackburn said, "How despicable that you cannot even have a moment of silence."

Blackburn delivered an 11-minute speech, with interruptions, in which she touted accomplishments under President Donald Trump, including lowering taxes, low unemployment and regulatory repeals.

While the the raucous protests overshadowed much of Blackburn's speech, she quickly recognized U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, who headlined the event, criticized Bredesen and painted a picture of the Senate under control of the Democratic Party.

"Phil Bredesen is already taking his cues from his Democratic political leader," Blackburn said, referring to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

Bredesen has previously said he would not support keeping Schumer as his party’s leader.

"This is why November 6th is so vitally important, to look at who is in control," Blackburn said, encouraging those present to cast their ballots during the remaining days of early voting.

During his remarks, Graham briefly joked about the protesters, encouraging them to exit before he continued.

"Marsha will change the Senate," he said, praising her determination and reliability. "Marsha's going to help Trump."

Graham, who was among the many Republicans who lost to Trump in the party's 2016 presidential primary, said he and the president had one thing in common: "I like him and he likes him."

Praising Trump, Graham noted that Bredesen has benefited from outside interest groups like Majority Forward, which is aligned with Schumer and has poured millions of dollars into the race.

Throughout his roughly 15-minute speech, Graham offered blunt assessments, once saying, "All these people that are trying to destroy our country and turn it into Venezuela and take our way of life — we're going to kick their a--."

Graham offered his own assessment of the race, saying, "To the Democrats in these Trump states, you picked the wrong side.”

Graham, who spent a portion of his remarks talking about the manner in which Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation was handled by Democrats, criticized Bredesen for not coming out sooner on the then-nominee.

Just as the Senate was set to begin a procedural vote on Kavanaugh's confirmation earlier this month, Bredesen said he supported the nominee.

Speaking to reporters after the event, Graham elaborated on his critique of Bredesen.

"He came on board when it was a done deal. (Blackburn) came on board when it was still up in the air," the South Carolina Republican said.

Blackburn said much like the way Americans were "appalled" with how Democrats handled the Kavanaugh confirmation, many at Sunday's gathering were similarly appalled by the protesters interrupting the event.

"We know they were yelling 'Impeach Trump' among other things," she said, noting the protests continued during the moment of silence. "I have never in my life heard of people interrupting a moment of silence...I think that's despicable.

When asked what the difference was between the protesters on Sunday and at the Kavanaugh hearings and the protests Blackburn so famously led against a proposed state income tax in the early 2000s, she said Sunday that they were very different.

"This is to disrupt and cause harm," she said. "Those were people who came to the capitol on their own time because they didn't want to pay more in taxes."

In July 2001, The Tennessean reported a “shouting mob of more than 1,000 anti-tax protesters” flocked to the state Capitol, pounding on lawmakers’ doors — with someone even throwing a rock and breaking former Gov. Don Sundquist’s office window.

More:Senate race: Blackburn, Bredesen at odds over history of Tennessee income tax fight

The paper noted that Sundquist and “several senators” blamed Blackburn and talk radio show hosts for encouraging the protesters to demonstrate.

But Blackburn denied responsibility at the time, saying, “It’s unfortunate it got out of hand.”

Blackburn said Sunday her opposition to the income tax was a stand against a policy. "There is a big difference," she said.

After Sunday's event, Blackburn's campaign said in a statement the protesters are a "liberal angry mob" that was under the leadership of Bredesen.

The former governor's campaign responded with its own statement, saying it was time for Americans to turn down the partisan rhetoric.

“It a shame that people disrupted Congresswoman Blackburn’s event and it is a shame that Congresswoman Blackburn’s campaign staffers have been proudly screaming at 37 of Governor Bredesen’s events," said Alyssa Hansen, Bredesen's campaign spokeswoman. "This is not what this election is about and it is time to get back to bringing attention to fixing problems for the people of Tennessee.”

A spokesman for the Tennessee Democratic Party also said the group had nothing to do with the protesters at Blackburn's event Sunday.

Reach Joel Ebert at jebert@tennessean.com or 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29.