Now you know this is a lowdown dirty shame that a journalist can compromise her self-respect and dignity by being forcibly removed from a press area near Air Force One shortly before President Barack Obama arrived at Los Angeles International Airport to depart California early Thursday. Secret Service personnel remove Brenda Lee, a writer for Macon's Georgia Informer, from near Air Force One after Lee attempted to give President Obama a letter. Airport security officers carried the woman away by the feet and arms as she protested her removal.
She said she has White House press credentials. Lee reportedly said in an interview that she wanted to hand Obama a letter urging him "to take a stand for traditional marriage." She said she asked a Secret Service agent to give the president her letter, but he refused and referred her to a White House staffer. Lee said she refused to give the staffer the letter.
"I said, 'I'll take my chances if (the president) comes by here,'" said Lee, who identified herself as a Roman Catholic priestess who lives in Anaheim, Calif. "He became annoyed that I wouldn't give him the letter."I know that this woman will be fodder for the late night comics tonight and I can't say I blame them. This was a disgrace and she ought to be kicked off the newspaper for her unprofessional behavior.
Lee, who was wearing what she described as a cassock, said she protested when she was asked to leave. "I said, 'Why are you bothering me?' They escorted me outside the gate," she said. She said security officers allowed her to return when she promised she would not yell or wave, but then other officers arrived and told her to leave. "I said, 'I'm not leaving,'" she said. "They tried to drag me out."
Two officers then picked her up and carried her out. An Associated Press photographer photographed the incident. "I was afraid you could see under my clothes," she said, her voice choking up. Source: NBC Los Angeles
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