The lawyer for a man charged with disrupting a Chicago performance of the musical "Hamilton" blamed the incident on a "hostile" and "partisan" audience and said his client does not owe theatergoers an apology.



Attorney Jonathan Feldman took issue with several witnesses who said John Palmer, 56, appeared intoxicated Saturday night as he yelled obscenities at the people around him and at the actors on stage after they sang the line, "Immigrants / We get the job done," among the most political references in the show.



Witnesses described Palmer as stumbling down the steps, spilling wine from a plastic cup and clenching his fists, threatening to fight people around him.



Feldman insisted Palmer was incited by an audience that was clearly against President-elect Donald Trump, whom Palmer supports. He said the "biased audience" seemed whipped up by comments made by the cast of the Broadway production last week as Vice President-elect Mike Pence was leaving the theater.



Brandon Victor Dixon, who portrayed Aaron Burr in the New York show, pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and read a message to Pence: "We, sir, we are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents, or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights, sir."



Trump called the remarks "harassment" and has demanded an apology.



Feldman said the incident in New York City helped create "a hostile, partisan and biased environment in the theater" in Chicago.



"It is unfortunate that I have to say that it seems as if the only party responsible for creating a hostile, partisan and biased audience ... might very well have been the cast and production of 'Hamilton' itself," Feldman told reporters outside the East Bank Club.



" 'Hamilton' has created an audience environment that is very against our president-elect and it is unfortunate someone who supports the president-elect cannot feel welcome attending theater with his family," the lawyer added.



Palmer, CEO of a company based in Iowa, was charged with misdemeanor criminal trespass after he was arrested around 9:30 p.m. at the PrivateBank Theatre in downtown Chicago.



Mary Patchell, of Chicago, said Palmer showed up late with his party and was talking loudly. After getting up shortly after being seated, Palmer tripped, fell and spilled red wine on a child seated behind him, as well as on her arm, she said.



"He got to his seat, then turned around to apologize to the kid," Patchell said. "They accepted his apology, and that should have been that. But then he continued apologizing in an extremely aggressive manner, and his volume kept increasing.



"Shortly after that was the line in 'Yorktown' of 'Immigrants / We get the job done.' The crowd cheered at that, and that is when he started speaking at full volume," Patchell said. "I immediately shot him a look of disapproval as we had just asked him to stop disrupting the show."



Patchell said Palmer shouted obscenities and mentioned Democrats, then "pulled his hands into tight fists ... attempting to initiate a physical fight at the edge of the balcony during the show."



Jeff Griger, who was visiting from Orlando, Fla., said he shot video showing a man going on a profanity-laced tirade in the theater hallway and threatening to punch a security guard who was detaining him.



Feldman refused to comment on the video and told reporters that "Mr. Palmer denies any wrongdoing on the date and time of the incidence."



Feldman called into question the charge of criminal trespass since Palmer paid for his ticket. In fact, Palmer paid for his entire party of seven to attend the show.



Attempts to reach Palmer were unsuccessful. Feldman said Palmer is "an otherwise very good person who has done nothing wrong.



"He's a good man, he's a family man, he's a individual who runs a successful company," Feldman said. "Mr. Palmer regrets what should have been an enjoyable evening at the theater with his family becoming anything more."



Several witnesses complained that Palmer had ruined the evening for them as well.



"We missed 'Yorktown' (one of my absolute favorite numbers) through the end of Act I because of this incident," Patchell said. "And although he was gone, the smell of his spilled wine lingered through the rest of the show. ... This began simply as a request for decent theater etiquette and turned into something completely different."



But Feldman seemed to dismiss such complaints.



"I'm not sure anyone else's family was affected besides Mr. Palmer's family," Feldman said. "It's my understanding that prior to Mr. Palmer defending himself in the audience, other members of the audience had adequately antagonized and provoked a political viewpoint that was not in defense of our president-elect."