Thread: Teen Trump fan, ejected from Charlotte rally, says he was profiled

August 19, 2016 11:32 AM

Teen Trump fan, ejected from Charlotte rally, says he was profiled

By Ann Doss Helms

An 18-year-old Charlotte college student who was ejected from Thursday’s Donald Trump rally says he went from avid backer to disillusioned opponent after Trump’s security staff accused him of being a known protester.

Jake Anantha, who registered as a Republican and planned to cast his first presidential vote for Trump, was wearing a Trump shirt when police removed him from the Charlotte Convention Center before the rally began. He and his father, Ramesh Anantha, say they believe he was profiled because of his dark skin.

“It’s unbelievably ironic,” said Ramesh Anantha, whose parents immigrated from India. He says his son, as a young person of color appearing at a rally where the Republican presidential nominee touted his support for people of color, “should have been looked at as a perfect Trump supporter. He should have been somebody they’re putting up on stage.”

I’m a huge Trump supporter – I was. I would never protest.

Kirk Bell, communications director for Trump’s North Carolina campaign, said Friday morning he would look into the incident and respond. Friday afternoon he sent an email that said, in its entirety: “My statement is as follows: We were informed last night that security identified those individuals asked to leave as individuals who have been removed from previous events.”
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When the Observer pressed for an explanation of whether the campaign still believes Anantha has disrupted previous events or whether this was a case of mistaken identity, Bell said the identification was made by Trump’s security director, former FBI agent Eddie Deck.

“You’d have to talk to those guys,” Bell said, adding that he had not asked for details but would follow up.

We don’t need to be throwing out any of our supporters.

Kirk Bell, communications director of Trump’s North Carolina campaign

Jake Anantha graduated from Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s Ardrey Kell High this year and enrolled at Central Piedmont Community College. His parents are conservative Republicans, but his dad says the teen’s ardor for Trump sometimes made even them say “Whoa!”

“When I saw him on TV, I personally didn’t mind his rhetoric,” Jake Anantha said Friday. “I defended him. When people called him a racist, I said he’s a critic of our flawed immigration system. He’s strong on Islamic terrorism.”

Anantha says he arrived at the Convention Center around 3:30 p.m., and when the crowd was admitted around 4:30 he took a position near the stage. He says he was standing there when a security staffer tapped his shoulder and asked him to come with him. He says the staffer said, “We know who you are. You’ve been at many other rallies.”

Across the country, Trump rallies have been marked by confrontations between protesters who disrupt speeches and the candidate’s supporters and security staff.

Rose Hamid, a Charlotte Muslim who has appeared at various Trump rallies to peacefully protest his depiction of Muslims, was ejected from Thursday’s event as she was handing out flower pens as part of her “Salam, I come in peace” campaign.

This man is dangerous. Look at the people he surrounds himself with.

Muslim activist Jibril Hough after the Charlotte rally

Jibril Hough, a Muslim activist from Charlotte who was removed from two South Carolina Trump rallies, attended the Charlotte event and was not asked to leave. Hough, who is white, brought a small “Go Yellow Against Hate” star but said he didn’t try to disrupt the Charlotte rally or call attention to himself.

The security staffer who asked Anantha to leave refused to answer an Observer reporter’s questions or identify himself. Anantha says he told the man this was his first Trump rally and he had no intention to protest. But police were called to escort Anantha and Hamid out of the room. Anantha says police warned him not to cause a fuss and get arrested.

Anantha says he stood outside the Convention Center watching a stream of white people enter.

“I thought (Trump) was for all people. I don’t believe he is for all people anymore,” he said. “Why are all these white people allowed to attend and I’m not?”

We are going to reject the bigotry of Hillary Clinton, which sees communities of color only as votes and not as human beings worthy of a better future.

Trump has struggled to gain support among minority voters. Only 2 percent of African-American voters and 26 percent of Latino voters say they back him, according to a McClatchy-Marist poll earlier this month.

In his Charlotte speech, Trump repeatedly emphasized his desire to connect with people of color. He talked about working with the African-American community to improve public education and fight poverty.

“Jobs, safety, opportunity. Fair and equal representation. This is what I promise to African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, and all Americans,” Trump said.

Jake and Ramesh Anantha say they realize it was not Trump who ordered the removal, but they say the candidate is responsible for the people he hires and the tone he sets.

“It was a very rude introduction into the world of politics,” said Ramesh Anantha, who works in financial services. “We realize Donald Trump himself had nothing to do with this problem, but it’s the type of campaign he’s running.”

Both men say they’d like an apology, but even if that happens, Trump has lost the family’s vote.

Jake Anantha says he thinks he’ll vote for Libertarian Gary Johnson.

Ann Doss Helms: 704-358-5033, @anndosshelms

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/new...#storylink=cpy

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/new...e96648367.html

This needs a thorough investigation. If this kid is telling the truth, he and his Dad were on Rachel Maddow show Friday evening talking about this, then policies changed or Eddie Deck needs to be fired. I understand the concern with potential protestors, but they need to protest before they're thrown out. If this is a scam by the kid which I don't think it is, but if it is, then it needs to be exposed. It needs to be settled one way or the other.

Half-Indian man escorted out of Trump rally

By Ashley Killough, CNN
Updated 8:51 PM ET, Fri August 19, 2016

Jake Anantha, the man escorted out of the rally, said he is a Trump supporter
The 18-year-old from Charlotte said he feels that he was racially profiled for being half-Indian

Charlotte (CNN)A man who identified himself as half-Indian was escorted out of a Donald Trump rally on Thursday out of concern that he was a protester, but the man insisted he was a Trump supporter and said he feels that he was racially profiled.

Jake Anantha, an 18-year-old from Charlotte, was approached by a member of Trump's security team and then ushered out by police. He was told that he resembled another man who had previously disrupted Trump rallies.

"I told him I've never been to another rally in my life," Anantha said. "I'm a huge Trump supporter. I would never protest against Trump."

Anantha later tweeted that he would be voting for Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson in November.

"I will definitely be voting Johnson on November 8th," he wrote Friday.

Anantha is a registered Republican, according to state voter records, who registered to vote in March. Anantha, who said he's a student at Central Piedmont Community College, was wearing a pro-Trump shirt with another pro-Trump shirt underneath.

"I do think it's because I'm brown," Anantha said, explaining why he believes he was kicked out. He added that he was "totally shocked."

Trump's campaign did not respond to requests for comment about the incident. Requests for comment from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department have not been returned.

It's not unusual for known demonstrators who have been previously spotted at Trump rallies to be asked to leave. A Muslim woman, Rose Hamid, was also kicked out of the rally Thursday night. She had been escorted from at least one Trump rally in the past for peacefully protesting and had previously been interviewed by major media outlets, including CNN.

Attempting to verify his political beliefs, Anantha said he was a conservative and expressed views in line with those of Trump, including opposition to Black Lives Matter protesters, who were demonstrating Thursday night outside the venue, and his belief that "radical Islam is a large threat to our country."

"I couldn't believe what was going on," he said of the incident. "Obviously now I'm very angry. I've wasted a bunch of time coming here. I may have wasted six months of my life supporting Donald Trump, who doesn't even let me come to his rallies."

At the time, although Anantha said the incident prompted him to question his support for Trump, he maintained he won't be voting for the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton.

"I couldn't do that," he said.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/19/politi...d-trump-rally/

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Click on link for an on the scene after he was ejected interview Thursday. On Thursday, he was still a Trump Supporter even after he was ejected, but when the campaign came back and said he was a protestor and security did the right thing, this was the Head of North Carolina campaign, not Trump Campaign Central, then Jake decided to vote for Gary Johnson.

Oh come on, you've got to get to the bottom of this and get it right fast! The kid and his parents claim they are registered REPUBLICANS. Kid says in the video there is a picture they had where someone looks like him, but it's not him, so it's probably a case of mistaken identity.

OR, it's a scam like Clock-Boy to get attention. Trump needs to get to the bottom of this, right away. This can't fly as it is.

If the only evidence the Trump campaign has is the guy was identified as a former protester by one single guy in security, I say Trump should personally call and apologize. This could be a simple case of mistaken identity. IMO, an apology could benefit Trump. In the best case scenario, he did the right thing and the voting public takes notice of his ability to take responsibility for those working for him. That's a good thing in my book. The worst thing that could happen, Donald wasted 5 minutes of his life.

If that was just one guy and they were afraid to take a chance on him, shame on security. As soon as the guy acts up, you get rid of him. Put the weight of proof on the head of security and if he may have been mistaken, bring the kid on stage at the next rally. Trump does have a heart.