Posted on 01/26/2005 9:37:45 PM PST by Nascardude
An aide to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) was arrested on the West Front of the Capitol for disorderly conduct during President Bush’s inaugural address last week.
The aide, Nathan Ackerman, is a television producer on the Senate Democratic Communications Committee — an organization that was folded into Reid’s new communications “war room.” About 20 minutes into Bush’s speech, Ackerman, 36, and another man held up a sheet that said “No War.” According to a Capitol Police report, Ackerman and another suspect “were blocking the view of the audience and they were engaged in a verbal dispute with members of the audience.”
The report states that Capitol Police officers told Ackerman and the other suspect to relinquish the sign or be arrested but that “neither complied and both were placed under arrest.” The report did not name either suspect, although Ackerman’s identity was confirmed with the Capitol Police.
The other suspect had been standing on his chair and “continued to display the banner and argue with members of the audience” before the arrest, according to the report.
Ackerman’s arrest was aired on national television by ABC News on Inauguration Day, although he has not previously been named or identified as a Senate employee.
The charge, a misdemeanor, carries a $25 fine. But it also brings some unwelcome publicity to Reid, who is trying to mount a unified party opposition to Bush’s policies without resorting to tactics normally employed in the street. Ackerman said that he was acting on his own and that no one in Reid’s operation encouraged him to undertake the protest.
Jim Manley, Reid’s communications director, declined to comment, other than to say that Ackerman’s “actions were not anything that Senator Reid condones or supports.” Manley said that he would not talk further about what he called a personnel issue and that Ackerman had Inauguration Day off, as many Senate staffers did.
Reid voted for a 2002 resolution granting the president authority to go to war in Iraq, although many Senate Democrats have been increasingly critical of how the administration has executed the war and its toll of casualties.
In an interview, Ackerman said that he got his inaugural ticket — which placed him in close proximity to Bush, members of Congress and other dignitaries — from a well-dressed attendee who had extras. He said that when he first acquired the ticket, he didn’t realize what a good seat he had gotten.
“I didn’t think I was doing anything illegal,” he said, referring to his sign, which Capitol Police referred to as a banner.
“I didn’t yell,” he said. “I did not resist. Other people who had signs were approached and given warnings. I was given no warning. I was immediately shuffled off.”
He declined to answer whether he was connected in any way to other protesters who were arrested. As a producer, Ackerman edits video material produced for Democratic senators but does not have a role in developing party strategy.
Ackerman, who said he plans to plead not guilty to the charge that he was “disorderly, loud and boisterous,” said that he thought his sign was within size restrictions and that he saw a government placard posting limits on the allowable size of signs at a security checkpoint.
But a Capitol Police spokesman, Sgt. Michael Lauer, said the Inaugural Committee clearly prohibits signs and banners. “You’re not allowed to protest on Capitol grounds unless you have permission to do so,” he said.
Inaugural invitations issued by the bipartisan inaugural committee listed such prohibited items as explosives, mace, pepper spray, backpacks, coolers, thermos bottles, signs and posters. Mark Goldstone, an attorney representing Ackerman, said Ackerman would probably fight the charge on First Amendment grounds. He said that police allowed pro-Bush signs in the crowd and that there may not have been adequate notice about what items were prohibited. “It’s a political event — it’s not a church service,” he said.
Ackerman said that when he held up the sign, he turned his back to Bush so that the crowd could see the sign. After that, Ackerman said, members of the crowd called him a “commie” and began “cursing like I’ve never heard anyone curse before.” Ackerman, who previously worked for ABC News in Los Angeles, described himself as one of a number of Democrats like former Sen. Max Cleland (D-Ga.) who dared to speak out on controversial issues.
“Sometimes there’s this persistent notion that if you question the justification of a war, that you are somehow lacking in patriotism,” he said. He said he might defend himself in court next month.
“I think it is important at times like this to make people aware … that the country is at an ideological crossroads, and maybe the America being represented by the president isn’t the America that half of us believe in.” He said he is “deeply respectful” of the men and women serving in the armed forces.
Ackerman, who was hired by former Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) two years ago, said he considered his activities to be those of a private individual, not a Senate employee. He said he declined opportunities to get tickets to the inauguration through Senate sources and was told by his office that he did not have to come to work on Inauguration Day, although it is not clear whether he reported for work the morning of Jan. 20.
Although word of Ackerman’s arrest clearly was not welcomed by Reid’s office, Reid — a former boxer — has advocated a tough political posture.
Reid earned media attention around Washington when he created a communications “war room” to launch aggressive attacks on Republicans. “We will use every tool and innovative avenue available to us to get our message out,” he vowed in a November 2004 statement.
Asked in December on NBC’s “Meet the Press” about a story in The Hill that outlined his new strategy, Reid replied, “We’re going to communicate with the American people to make sure that they understand the Democrats are in tune with millions of Americans across the country. ”
You know, I was and still am very happy that Tom Daschle no longer has his job as the Democrats Senate leader. But from what I see of this Harry Reid guy so far, he actually makes Daschle look halfway decent.
AND I strongly belive that any Democrat Congressmen or Senator who played a roll in allowing these people into the VIP section of the inauguration needs to be stripped of their congressional duties, lose their respected offices, and be immediately thrown in jail. I'm so SICK OF THIS CRAP!!! You know damn well if it had been Kerry's inauguration and some Republicans in Congress had their hand in allowing protestors into the VIP section, the media would be going after their hides and would burn them at the stake. Well enough is enough. The people who came to DC last week to protest were not denied their civil rights. They were given a section in which to protest.
Too bad those protestors didn't get the $%&*! beat out of them. If it had been in Texas, they'd be running for their lives!
Thank you, Jim Gibbons.
THey didn't get that. But they got a whole bunch of 4 letter words and "Four more Years" chants from me and everyone around me.
It's not the protestors though. I expected them. The thing that just truly pisses me off is that the Democrats in congress, like Reid and Rep. Henry Waxman of California, who appear now to have played a hand in getting these protestors into the VIP section of the swearing in ceremony are going to get away with it. They won't be held accountable for their actions. And most people won't even know about it, much less care about it. :-(
All those Dem Congressmen are blue-state monsters.
Like I said, imagine if a Republican had tried this. If Trent Lott or John McCain or some Republican in Congress had helped get a Republican protestor into the VIP section of Clinton's inauguration, the press would have ate them up. There'd be nothing left.
But not Henry Waxman or Harry Reid. Oh No!! They just get away with it. That's how it works! IT'S FREAKIN DISGUSTING!!!
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