Three White House officials were sued Thursday over their alleged role in ejecting three people from a town-hall meeting with President Bush in Denver two years ago.
The so-called “Denver Three” claim they were excluded from the taxpayer- financed event for political reasons.
Named in the U.S. District Court suit are Greg Jenkins, Steven A. Atkiss and James A. O’Keefe. The suit says that at the time of Bush’s 2005 visit to Denver, the three men were officials of the White House advance office, which coordinates presidential visits.
Activists Leslie Weise, Alex Young and Karen Bauer were escorted out of the Bush event at the Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum.
The suit, filed on behalf of Weise and Young by the American Civil Liberties Union, claims that the White House had a policy of prohibiting anyone from attending such an event if they held a viewpoint other than Bush’s.
The Denver Three, who had tickets to the event issued by former U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez’s office, had arrived in a car with a bumper sticker that said “No more blood for oil.”
The names of Atkiss and O’Keefe surfaced two weeks ago during a deposition in which Michael Casper, a local volunteer bouncer for the event, said Weise, Young and Bauer were ordered from the event at Atkiss’ and O’Keefe’s direction.
Atkiss told The Denver Post on March 2 that under White House policy, guests who disagree with Bush can stay at public forums if they are well- behaved, “but … if there’s an indication somebody’s primary intent is to cause trouble, we are looking to avoid trouble.”
Atkiss is now chief of staff for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Mark Silverstein, legal director of the ACLU of Colorado, said Thursday that the White House shouldn’t be in the “business of censoring Americans.”
White House spokesman Blair Jones declined comment, saying, “We cannot comment on a matter in litigation.”
Casper and Jay Bob Klinkerman, who also acted as a volunteer bouncer at the event, have been named by the ACLU in a previous lawsuit.
