My HUNCH (based solely on nothing in particular) - The union guy really is a union guy. Did the father go to the airport hoping to get accosted, and therefore get his sympathy story in the paper for this election cycle? Perhaps; there is a pattern. But I certainly can't get into the man's head. What's REALLY quite a coincidence is that an AP photographer was right there. Nobody would ever accuse AP of collaborating with OUR side.
So what if that was his purpose in going to the rally. The point is that he WAS accosted. No one forced the thug to rip up the girl's sign. He did it of his own volition.