It was his election as such they objected to, not anything he did himself.
They projected upon him their worst fears and then proceeded to act upon them.
Do not mistake it. It would be a very real fear if someone led you to believe that your primary source of income is to be threatened and possibly extinguished.
The prospect of losing what you have is very unappealing to anyone, and many people will react viscerally to such a threat, real or not.
In retrospect we can say they overreacted, but who could honestly believe they would do better in their place?