Gov. Janet Mills was in her hometown of Farmington on Saturday to announce the winners of Maine’s annual moose hunt permit lottery, but the process became a bit testy when she encountered hecklers who booed and shouted at her.
The booing began as Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Commissioner Judy Camuso introduced the Democratic governor to the podium to start reading off names of the more than 4,000 hunters who will have the chance to hunt moose during the 2025 season that begins in September.
Mills repeatedly stepped away from the podium and raised her hands before returning to the microphone as hecklers continued to boo her, at one point telling the crowd, “I’m not going to read any names until you quiet down.”
“We have daughters,” one member of the audience under a tent at the Farmington Fairgrounds shouted in a video shared by Rep. Laurel Libby, R-Auburn, on social media. The video was taken from the side of the stage at an angle that did not show the faces of different hecklers.
“I have five daughters,” Mills said.
“Stand up for them,” an attendee replied, as part of an apparent reference to Maine’s policies allowing transgender girls to compete in female sports that drew attention this year after President Donald Trump began targeting Maine over the matter.
The video ended after Mills once again stepped away from the podium as a member of the crowd said to “get someone else to read the names,” but the governor eventually read off some of the names of the lottery winners. Spokespeople for Mills, who is termed out of office next year, did not respond Monday morning to a request for comment.
Maine governors do not always appear at the moose permit lottery that is held in different towns each year, but Mills pointed out to the crowd Saturday that Farmington is her hometown.
The results of the 2025 lottery for the moose hunting season that begins Sept. 22 are available at bangordailynews.com/moose-lottery.
