Two Denver political activists recently filed a federal lawsuit, challenging their questionable March 21 eviction from a “town hall” meeting with President Bush at the Wings Over the Rockies Museum.
The incident soured a session that was stage-managed to boost the president’s Social Security initiative, and raised suspicions that the White House was censoring opposing viewpoints at its public forums. We hope the litigation will get at the truth.
With the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, Leslie Weise and Alex Young filed the federal lawsuit last Monday alleging their constitutional rights were violated when they were kicked out of the event by a man they believed was a Secret Service agent. Named among the defendants were Michael Casper, a General Services Administration official, and Jay Bob Klinkerman, a local Republican volunteer, and five John/Jane Does.
Weise and Young, along with companion Karen Bauer, had obtained tickets from the office of Rep. Bob Beauprez, R-Colo., to attend the taxpayer-funded event. Soon after arriving, they were stopped by Klinkerman and told to await the Secret Service. The complaint says that Casper then arrived and Klinkerman said, “That’s him,” or, “Here he comes.” Casper, wearing a blue suit, an earpiece and a lapel pin, let the plaintiffs in but warned them against trying any “funny stuff” or they’d be arrested.
The three, who were wearing anti-Bush T-shirts under their clothes, have said they had no intention of disrupting the event but hoped to ask questions. Instead, they were kicked out, supposedly as a result of an antiwar bumper sticker on Weise’s car.
The lawsuit alleges that similar tactics have been used at public sessions with Bush that took place in Arizona, New Hampshire and North Dakota.
The Secret Service investigated allegations of impersonation of a Secret Service agent, but acting U.S. Attorney Bill Leone’s office concluded there wasn’t enough evidence to prosecute, and no details were made public.
Town hall meetings are rooted in Colonial New England and have been effective precisely because participants were free to speak their minds. Packing the crowd is a repugnant ploy that has no place in an open society with democratic traditions. The public deserves to know if dissent is being stifled by political hacks, pliant Secret Service officials or the White House itself.
