A town hall meeting with U.S. Sen Ron Wyden was called off Saturday afternoon when "hands up, don't shoot" protests broke out.

The event, at Portland Community College's Southeast Campus, was canceled after 45 minutes.

More than 100 protestors entered the Wyden event shortly after 2:30 p.m. shouting, "I can't breathe" and "hands up, don't shoot."

Wyden, D-Oregon, stepped away from the microphone as the protesters moved to the front of the meeting area and continued shouting and holding placards.

Attendees of the event started to get frustrated. Some began confronting the protesters, urging them to stop.

Wyden persuaded the protesters to be silent, briefly, promising he would allow them to air their concerns early in the event. They were silent as Wyden awarded medals for heroism during World War II to 100-year-old Navy veteran Dario Raschio.

After accepting his awards, Raschio addressed the protesters, saying, "These people who are here for a cause, whatever it might be -- show respect to Senator Wyden," to which the crowd burst into applause.

However, immediately following the award presentation, the chanting began again. Protesters stated it was "their town meeting" to which Wyden responded, "Yes, it's your town meeting, but it's theirs as well" as he gestured toward the audience.

Demonstrators across the country have used "don't shoot" and "hands up" as rallying cries following the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, last fall. "I can't breathe" references the death of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man who died in July following a chokehold by a New York City police officer.

A coalition called Don't Shoot Portland had planned a rally on Southeast 82nd Avenue on Saturday afternoon and two were arrested earlier in the afternoon for allegedly blocking the avenue.

At 3:15, after Wyden's event had been delayed by 45 minutes, it was announced that the town hall was not going to be held. Many attendees left, shaking their heads and frustrated by the event.

Wyden did meet with a few members of various causes privately, in a conference room with a half-dozen police officers standing outside.

"The reason I hold these town meetings is because I want to give everybody a chance to talk," Wyden said. "I'm acutely aware that people are frustrated about what's going on in Washington D.C. They are certainly frustrated about the topics that the protesters brought up. I just so wish we could have had a real dialogue."

Wyden continued, "I think that the symbolism of having a veteran 100 years old, who fought so gallantly so that those who disagree with government policies and want to exercise their First Amendment rights could be heard, that's what made today so poignant."

"We are certainly going to reschedule it," he said. "It's important to be able to throw open the doors of government to everybody. That's why town hall meetings are so important."

-- Kristyna Wentz-Graff