Kaitlin Bennett, best known as the Kent State Gun Girl—a nickname she received after a photo of her at her graduation posing with an AR-10 rifle went viral—was expelled from the Bernie Sanders campaign stop in Lordstown, Ohio, last Sunday, April 14.
Since her graduation, Bennett has been speaking out for conservative causes, which earned her a position as a reporter for the InfoWars.com website.
She decided to show up at the rally, since it was advertised as a public event, only to find out it was invitation only. After she sat in her chair, a security guard approached her and asked her to leave. Bennett uploaded a video of the ensuing discussion to Twitter.
I am a conservative journalist and was just ejected from a @BernieSanders rally for expressing my 1st amendment. I was just sitting there and was told I had to leave, with no reason given except that his campaign didn’t want me there. THIS is actual fascism. pic.twitter.com/iyaMwAHMMU
— Kaitlin Bennett (@KaitMarieox) April 14, 2019
Bennet told WFMJ, an NBC affiliate in Youngstown, Ohio, “I asked them, did I violate any rules, did I do anything, am I a disturbance? I was just scrolling on Facebook. They simply didn’t want me there, because they know who I am, and I believe, that event was staged. They had plants in the audience who were supposed to ask the questions. Bernie was scripted with the responses, and they didn’t want anyone else to try and ask questions,” said Bennett.
According to the WFMJ report, Bennett wanted to ask Sanders whether he would support free health care for illegal immigrants. But she never got the chance. She was summoned to leave the event. She complied but got no satisfactory reason as to why she was removed. She claims she’s never created a disturbance at any event she has reported on, so far.
The Twitter video shows Bennett on her way out down the hallway, escorted by an officer, who apologized for removing her. The explanation he gave for his actions was because Sanders’s campaign did not want her inside.
In a second video Bennett uploaded to Twitter, she continued: “What we just saw, was Bernie Sanders’ campaign discriminated against a certain journalist. I’m a journalist for InfoWars.com. We are a news outlet. I’m a woman journalist, and I got ejected from a Bernie Sanders town hall event.” She says. “This is a public high school. This is not a private property. This is not a private event.”
The police officer agreed with me that I did nothing wrong, but booted me anyway. On my way out, the private security officer told me he supports me but has to do his job. Thank you @BernieSanders for exposing how intolerant the left really is towards dissenting opinions. pic.twitter.com/lzFX1s8gjP
— Kaitlin Bennett (@KaitMarieox) April 14, 2019
Bennett’s stunt provoked mixed reactions on Twitter. Conservative commenters praised her. Someone called Sanders “a communist dictator” and the way she was treated at the event a “violation of her First Amendment rights.”
According to the WFMJ report, they called the Sanders campaign staff to ask why they had her expelled and why they wouldn’t answer the question directly. Later, the campaign staff released the following statement:
“We are disappointed the people of the Youngstown community are being shown on the local broadcast news content from InfoWars, a white supremacist platform that has been banned from YouTube, Apple, and Facebook for hate speech and targeting the parents of children who died in Sandy Hook.”
Bennett replied on Twitter: “It was a Bernie supporter that tried to kill @SteveScalise. It was a Bernie supporter that attacked @RandPaul. Bernie supporters burned down Berkeley when Milo came to speak. @BernieSanders has violent supporters, and by calling me a white supremacist is threatening my life.”
It was a Bernie supporter that tried to kill @SteveScalise. It was a Bernie supporter that attacked @RandPaul. Bernie supporters burned down Berkeley when Milo came to speak. @BernieSanders has violent supporters, and by calling me a white supremacist is threatening my life.
— Kaitlin Bennett (@KaitMarieox) April 15, 2019
