Fort Lauderdale Tea Party

[Brugmansian]

That is a terrific photo. Do you have other versions of it? More information on the altercation?

[sig226]

It’s a news picture. I can say that I watched the stoners/ antis when they were on the corner across the street with a small counter protest. There were maybe a dozen of them. Allen West spoke, then I left the stage area with a friend so we could talk and meet some other friends in the crowd.

We saw the hippies march in a group up to the edge of the stage. One had a drum, a couple of others were banging on pots and pans. They started chanting at the edge of the stage and the tea partiers immediately surrounded them and chanted USA over their comments. I walked over to try to get a picture of it, but it was like the counter protestors weren’t even there. They were invisible. So my friend and I walked away again, over to his wife and her friend, and also his pastor.

Several minutes went by, then the entire group of counter protestors skulked away with their shoulders drooping and without banging the drum and the pots and pans. A few federal police officers were standing on the building entrance above the speakers’ platform. We were on the steps of the federal courthouse, so the federal security (real cops) were there. They could see down into the crowd. I’m guessing that they saw the altercation get heated and contacted the Broward Sheriffs, who told the counter protestors to leave.