The Republican Party chairman in Lake County, Florida, is facing accusations of utilizing the state Highway Patrol to throw new members out of a Monday meeting.

Lake County Commissioner Anthony Sabatini, who attended Monday’s meeting, said state highway patrolmen were removing people at the request of county GOP Chairman Taylor Yarkosky.

“They twisted a man’s arm in his 60s behind his back and said they were going to throw him in jail if he didn’t leave the meeting,” Sabatini told the Washington Examiner. “It was completely insane.”

According to Sabatini, Yarkosky closed the meeting to members only, but they had removed former State Republican Committeeman Ralph Smith from the building. Sabatini said Yarkosky was seeking to block 35 MAGA Republicans from joining Monday’s meeting.

On his website, Yarkosky describes himself as a “Constitutional conservative.” Sabatini, the county GOP chairman until 2024, was reportedly unhappy when Yarkosky won. The two are not friendly, with Yarkosky saying Sabatini has “evil in his heart.”

“No county expels and blocks registered Republicans from coming to the Republican meeting, Sabatini said. “It’s never happened.”

The Washington Examiner reached out to Yarkosky and the Florida Highway Patrol for comment.

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Sabatini told the Washington Examiner that he received word from a person close to Yarkosky, a member of the Florida state legislature, that an email was sent from his state House office requesting officers present at the meeting.

“It was a public safety request on behalf of the state legislature, and so that’s why they went,” Sabatini said. “Taxpayers actually paid to have these police come in and arrest and throw people out.”