Outside the convention center where Herbalife hosted its event the atmosphere became testy when some distributors spat at some of the community activists and when Herbalife CEO Michael Johnson arrived, several eye witnesses said.

“Johnson approached us and was very confrontational,” said Randy Fox, a regional director for LULAC, adding “he told us ‘You don’t know the facts. We don’t want to hear your lies. This is all lies. You should be ashamed of this.” Herbalife spokesman James Golden declined to comment on the matter.