Twitter
Facebook
Reddit
Digg
Tell us what you think!Send a letter to the editor about this or any other article in The Maine Campus.
While supporters of the Republican Party rallied around President George W. Bush and Maine’s Republican candidates at Bangor International Airport, some were not able to get inside the hangar to attend the rally.
According to a Bangor Daily News article, as many as 150 protesters occupied the corner of Maine Avenue and Godfrey Boulevard, which the Secret Service roped off as a centralized place for protesting.
A handful of protesters attempted to board the buses transporting supporters from the parking area to Hangar 12, which housed the GOP rally. Approximately 30 of the protestors were blocked from boarding.
Katie Mann, a student at UMaine, explained how someone began collecting tickets as they stood in line to board one of the buses. She said the group believed this was for admission puposes.
“That wasn’t the case, they took our tickets so we couldn’t get on the bus,” Mann said.
Mann explained that when she and her party requested an answer as to why they were not allowed to board the bus, they did not receive an explanation.
“There were people in line behind us, and they were saying ‘let the guy in plaid through’ [while] pushing us aside,” Mann said.
At 3 p.m., the number of protesters dwindled to about 15. A few of the protesters made it inside the airport hangar, but were stripped of their tickets and sent back to the protest area.
Chris Fitzpatrick, 20, a student at the New England School of Communications, said he was able to enter the rally. He and his companions removed their sweatshirts to reveal anti-Bush T-shirts. Fitzpatrick’s shirt displayed a picture of Bush next to type that read “not my president.”
“Police and Secret Service came over and asked us to leave,” Fitzpatrick said. “They said a committee had voted us out.”
Following their display of displeasure towards leaving the premises, Fitzpatrick claimed that Sgt. Tom Regan of the Bangor Police Department threatened to arrest the group on grounds of criminal trespassing, after they were stripped of their rally tickets.
“They grabbed our tickets from us and said, ‘You don’t have tickets anymore. Leave,’” Fitzpatrick said.
Regan was unavailable for comment.
The steady beat of a protestor’s drum murmured in the background as the few remaining picketers showed their support for peace and their criticism of war.
“This is a public event, or so I thought,” Mandy Lancaster, a UMaine student said. “But apparently the Republicans have the right to pick and choose throughout the line of people who they want to go in or not. I guess you definitely have to look a certain way, we don’t fit that criteria.”
“All five of them? They’re behaving themselves well,” Sgt. Marcia of the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department said of the conduct of the protestors. Marcia said there had been no problems.
“I’m just really frustrated that they say they’re all about freedom of speech and they want the youth to get involved in politics, but then at a certain point when they don’t like you, they want you to stop,” Bree Blalock, a UMaine student, said. “I’m definitely against Bush, I’m not going to go home and say ‘the day’s over.’”
