An ardent Indian-American fan of Donald Trump was ejected from his rally in Charlotte, North Carolina on Thursday evening — apparently mistaken to be a protester, while the victim himself thinks it may be a case of racial profiling because of the colour of his skin.
Wearing a ‘Trump for President’ T-shirt, 18-year-old Jake Anantha took his position near the stage long before the arrival of Trump at the Charlotte Convention Center.
Much to Anatha’s shock and disbelief, he was removed by the police from the venue well before the start of the rally. That came about after a member of Trump’s security staff accused him of being a known protester.
Believing it to be case of mistaken identity, Anantha told the security officer that he has never been to another rally in his life. “I’m a huge Trup supporter. I would never protest against Trump,” he said, but to no avail.
A registered Republican, Anantha had entered the hall as an avid Trump supporter with plans to cast his first presidential vote for the New York billionaire but left as a disillusioned opponent, reported the Charlotte Observer.
Prior to this episode, Anantha said he had always been a defender of Trump, adding: “When people called him a racist, I said he’s a critic of our flawed immigration system. He’s strong on Islamic terrorism.”
Both Anantha, a student at Central Piedmont Community College, and his father believe it to be a case of profiling because of the victim’s dark skin. “I do think it’s because I’m brown,” Anantha said, adding he was “totally shocked” by the incident.
“It’s unbelievably ironic,” said Ramesh Anantha, noting that Trump himself, speaking at that very rally later, touted his support for people of colour. He felt his son should have been somebody they put up on the stage as perfect Trump supporters. When asked if the youngster’s removal was a case of mistaken identity, Kirk Bell, Communications Director for Trump’s North Carolina campaign, is reported to have said that Trump’s Security Director Eddie Deck had made the determination.
“We were informed last night that security identified those individuals asked to leave as individuals who have been removed from previous events,” Bell told the newspaper.