Kicking & Screaming: Journo Dragged From Near AF1

[patriot45]

Ooh, just imagine the uproar if this happened as Bush was going to get on the plane! Stormtrooper, thugs and nazis! (http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Reporter-Dragged-Kicking-and-Screaming-From-Near-Air-Force-One-.html)


A reporter for a small newspaper was forcibly removed from a press area near Air Force One shortly before President Barack Obama arrived at Los Angeles International Airport to depart California early Thursday.

Secret Service personnel remove Brenda Lee from near Air Force One after Lee attempted to give President Obama a letter, Thursday May 28, 2009, at LAX.

Airport security officers carried the woman away by the feet and arms as she protested her removal.

She later identified herself as Brenda Lee, a writer for the Georgia Informer in Macon and said she has White House press credentials. The newspaper's Web site says it is a monthly publication, and a Brenda Lee column is posted on it.

Calls to the newspaper and the White House press office were not immediately returned.

[AlmostThere]

I saw this reported on Greta a few minutes ago. A staffer tried to accept the letter but she insisted that she had to hand it to Obama personally. She was told that wasn't going to happen and she refused to take no for an answer. I can't stand Zero but this woman is an idiot if she thinks she can do this.

[megimoo]

Ooh, just imagine the uproar if this happened as Bush was going to get on the plane! Stormtrooper, thugs and nazis! (http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Reporter-Dragged-Kicking-and-Screaming-From-Near-Air-Force-One-.html)What did her note ask Of Obama that made them react that way. Oh Well her column ought to be of interest for a while after this !

[nero]

What did her note ask Of Obama that made them react that way. Oh Well her column ought to be of interest for a while after this !

She was asking Obama to take a "traditional stance on Marriage"

[Odysseus]

She was asking Obama to take a "traditional stance on Marriage"

If that were the case, they'd have sicced Perez Hilton on her.

Regardless, in this one, I'm on the side of the people who have the job of keeping the president secure from threats. A White House press pass is not proof of benign intent towards the president. In fact, for the last eight years, it seems to have been proof of anything but benign intent. Regardless, demanding to hand the president an envelope that could contain literally anything is a security violation of the highest order and they were right to detain her. However, that doesn't mean that this story needs to go away. The fact is, if this had happened under Bush, the press would have screamed bloody murder about the Gestapo tactics of the Rovian storm troopers.

[AlmostThere]

Actually, they didn't detain her. The report I heard was that she was removed from the scene and then released. I have to wonder why the Secret Service wouldn't detain her for a while. She obviously isn't totally rational and was hell-bent on getting into immediate proximity of 0.

[Gingersnap]

This was wrong and she should be punished. Regardless of what the letter was about, leaping toward a head of state is out of bounds.