Seeking to build momentum after this week’s presidential debates, Democrat Elizabeth Warren promised supporters in Tempe on Thursday a more-inclusive immigration system, action combating climate change and more gun control.

A crowd of 3,000 at the Marquee Theater welcomed her liberal agenda designed to attack what she sees as money-driven corruption in Washington.

The event, billed as a town hall, included no questions, but the two-term senator from Massachusetts stood for hundreds of selfie pictures with supporters after a speech that was by turns folksy and fiery.

Warren drew some of her loudest cheers when she promised to end the family separations practiced by President Donald Trump's administration along the southern border.

"An immigration system that cannot tell the difference between a mama with a baby, a 12-year-old girl, a criminal and terrorist is not an immigration system that is keeping us stronger. It is making us weaker," she said.

Warren said it is already against the law to abuse immigrants, something she will not tolerate.

"While Donald Trump may be willing to look the other way, President Warren will not," she said.

Warren's rally came on the heels of a generally well-received debate performance this week and as she seems safely in the top tier of 2020 Democratic contenders.

She was at ease holding what she called her 116th town hall and discussing what she called the three subjects she gets asked about the most: climate change, immigration and gun control.

Warren tied the strain of her ill father when she was a child to her populist economic advocacy today. After her father was stricken with a heart attack, she said, her mother supported their family on a minimum-wage job.

"That minimum-wage job saved our house and more importantly it saved our family," she said. "No matter how hard it looks, no matter how scared you are, what it comes down to is you reach down and you find what you have to find, you pull it up, and you take care of the people you love."

The minimum wage has eroded to the point where that kind of action isn't enough, Warren said.

That's the product of a Washington in the control of special interests that help the needs of multinational corporations, but not ordinary families, she said.

"Whatever issue brought you here today ... whether it's climate change, whether it's immigration, whether it's gun safety, whatever brought you here, if there is a decision to be made in Washington, it has been touched by money," Warren said. "It has been shaped by money."

Climate change, Warren said, is a threat to every living thing on the planet. But it's also a $23 trillion growth industry for humankind to harness, she said, adding that America should invest in technology to counter its effects and export that to the world — for free if needed.

In an effort to reduce gun violence, Warren called for universal background checks on gun sales and for keeping the "weapons of war" off public streets. The reason the country doesn't already do it, she said, is the influence of the National Rifle Association, which "holds Washington by the throat."

Warren attracted a crowd that included at least some who are not the liberal core of the Democratic Party.

Sandeep Shah of Mesa said he’s not necessarily a reliable Democratic voter, but in 2020, he’s looking for a blue candidate who can win.

Shah called Warren authentic and honest, but said he attended the town hall to learn more about her policy proposals and general vision for the country.

“Anybody but Trump,” Shah said.

Ryan Alexander of Phoenix has been following Warren’s career since she first started to gain a national profile for her work to hold banks accountable for the role they played in the recession.

Warren has the chops to go toe-to-toe with Trump, Alexander said.

Alexander said he’s a former teacher who was forced to switch to a career in information technology to pay off his student-loan debt, and “free college” is his top issue.

“Millennials are getting ready to take on a huge part in the political process,” he said. “We’re suffering from student-loan debt every day, paying that back, having to take jobs outside of our fields just because we have to be able to pay off that student-loan debt.”

The event also attracted about a half-dozen members of the right-wing AZ Patriots, who unfurled a Trump 2020 flag as they were led away from the rally by security after disrupting the speech. At least one man was thrown to the floor by authorities after a heated exchange.

A Warren supporter, 29-year-old Kristian Doak, was arrested and held by Tempe Police after the altercation with the AZ Patriots members. Doak was charged with two counts of assault and one count of disorderly conduct, according to Tempe Police.

Jennifer Harrison told The Republic that she and other members of the AZ Patriots went to the town hall “document and record” the event for the group's followers.

“We didn’t come in full MAGA attire,” she said. “My hat was in my back pocket.”

Harrison said Warren campaign staff were “rude and condescending,” and tried to block the group’s view of the stage with signs. Security staff asked the group to leave, and the AZ Patriot group complied, Harrison said.

“We left peacefully because we respect the law, we respect private businesses and their request for us to leave,” Harrison said.

The altercation began as the group was leaving, Harrison said.

“One gentleman, I won’t even call him a gentleman, one savage liberal, came after my partner, tried to grab the phone out of his hand,” Harrison said. “Security grabbed him, threw him out of the building. He stood up, tried to lunge after me and take a swing, and I called for my friend. Now he’s in jail. The Warren supporter is in jail.”

Natalie Barela, media relations detective for Tempe Police, told The Republic that no one was injured in the altercation.

Reach the reporter Ronald J. Hansen at ronald.hansen@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4493. Follow him on Twitter @ronaldjhansen.

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