Criminal t-shirts?

Jayson Nelson, a construction worker who also serves as a supervisor in Wisconsin's Outagamie County, "was forced to leave President Bush's campaign rally [in Green Bay] because he was wearing a T-shirt endorsing Democrat John Kerry for president," reported the July 18 Appleton Post-Crescent.

Earlier that day, Nelson had attended a Kerry for President rally in Fond du Lac. After throwing a button-down shirt over his t-shirt, Nelson--holding a VIP pass he had received as a local government official--quietly and patiently waited outside Green Bay's Resch Center auditorium. Responding to a complaint from a woman standing next to Nelson, security guards forced him to remove his dress shirt. Once the Kerry t-shirt was revealed, Nelson was plucked out of line and delivered into Secret Service custody. After a brief background check, Nelson was released--but he wasn't permitted to attend the event.

"I was told that no law was broken, but I was nearly treated like a criminal for the terrible crime of wearing a t-shirt," Nelson commented afterward. According to Merrill Smith, Midwestern regional spokeswoman for the Bush-Cheney re-election effort, Nelson had no right to attend the event: "These events are for people who are going to get out and support the president and who are going to work on his behalf between now and Nov. 2."

Nelson should consider himself fortunate: He could have been arrested and charged with "trespassing," as were Nicole and Jeff Rank of Charleston, West Virginia. The Ranks were part of a crowd of spectators during an Independence Day event billed as a "presidential appearance," rather than a "campaign rally." Like other participants, the Ranks acquired the proper tickets for the event, held on the steps of the state Capitol. They sang the National Anthem, and comported themselves respectfully. However, unlike GOP loyalists sporting pro-Bush t-shirts and accouterments, the Ranks were clad in t-shirts reading: "Love America, Hate Bush."

"Police took Nicole and Jeff Rank away in handcuffs from the event," reported the July 14 Charleston (West Virginia) Gazette. The couple was fingerprinted and booked on "trespassing" charges as if the Capitol steps suddenly became the property of the president and his supporters. Additionally Nicole, who had worked as an environmental liaison for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, was later told by the agency that "she was no longer needed in West Virginia."

Noted the paper: "The Secret Service had been telling local police to sequester anyone displaying an anti-administration message, usually in areas completely out of sight or earshot of Bush." This leaves local police and municipal governments on the hook for a federal policy intended to protect the president from the spectacle of public criticism of his performance. The charges against the Ranks were dropped, and the Charleston City Council offered a perfunctory apology. But the Secret Service policy remains firmly in place.