Le says she and the people sitting near her were peaceful and compliant. But after sitting through most of the governor's address, they were forcibly ejected at 4:40. A state patrolman twisted Le's arms behind her back, she says. and refused to answer her repeated questions about why she was being escorted out.
...
"They kicked us out because we were not clapping," Wasserman says. " "I never once stood to cheer or jeer. I totally complied because I didn't want to get kicked out. The person next to me was fuming. When all the Republicans around us stood and cheered she stood and booed and they came over and got her. She said, 'I know, I know, I'm going,' and she left. But that drew attention to us."
...
"Maybe I pushed it a little," says Wasserman, "because they said you couldn't have signs, so I wrote on my forearms: "Not Fair" on one, and "Solidarity" on the other. As we were told 'Please rise,' I stood up and turned and showed my arms. A guard came over and said, 'Please, sir, turn around,'--he said something like my arms were a form of signage. So I did. Then we stood for a prayer. Being a Jew, I didn't want to thank the Lord Jesus, so I turned around and they came over again and told me not to do that, so I sat down. And I sat quietly for the next thirty minutes. They said do not stand or clap or cheer or jeer--but the Republicans were doing it."
...
Le brought out the rules when the officers came to escort her out. "I said, 'We didn't do anything on this list, and everyone else did,' she says. The guard was like, 'Ma'am you have to leave.' He grabbed my right arm, put it behind my back, took my left arm. I said, 'Can I get my coat?' I was bending down toward it, because it had slipped down in the chair. He said, 'No.' He yanked me back and pushed me out. The same thing was happening to David. My arms were still pinned. He used a surprising amount of force."
Much more at link:
http://www.progressive.org/rc030211.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+progressivefeed+%28The+Progressive+Main+Feed%29
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