The Daily Beast interviewed the “Plaid Shirt Guy,” 17 year old Tyler Linfesty, a Billings-area high-school student. He tells the story of how and why he was there, and it’s a fun read.
But what alarmed me about his story was this:
“Some Secret Service guys took me backstage and told me to wait,” he concluded. “After about 10 minutes they told me to leave and not come back and that was it.”
Tyler wasn’t threatening or endangering Cult 45, or anyone else. This was a public political event; he gained entrance by a random drawing for tickets. So why the hell was the U.S. Secret Service escorting this peaceful citizen backstage and then telling him to leave? If anyone’s going to eject an attendee merely for being insufficiently enthusiastic, shouldn’t it be the campaign security staff of the candidate, Matt Rosendale?
But enough of my pique about taxpayer-funded Secret Service agents acting like partisan bouncers. The article also contained some bright news:
Although it was not visible throughout much of the speech, Linfesty was proudly sporting a sticker for the Democratic Socialists of America—the political organization that includes many of the upstart leftist candidates currently challenging Democratic lawmakers for their seats.
“I am part of the Democratic Socialists of America,” Linfesty said, “but I identify as a social democrat, like Bernie Sanders or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.”
And the Billings chapter of DSA was excited to see local youth representing their views on national television. “The young man is not an active member of our chapter,” the group told The Daily Beast, “but we hope he will be!”
The Resistance is everywhere! 😈