Student arrested for seeking answer from Coulter
Melissa Stelter, Clarion Opinion Editor
Issue date: 3/11/09 Section: Opinion
Ann Coulter tends to create controversy wherever she goes, and Feb. 18 was no exception. Coulter, conservative blowhard and author of such needlessly incendiary books as Godless: The Church of Liberalism and If Democrats Had Any Brains, They'd Be Republicans, was speaking at the College of New Jersey Feb. 18 in an effort to tout her newest opus, Guilty: Liberal "Victims" and Their Assault on America. The lecture was widely anticipated on campus, and according to local media reports, security was turning people away as the lecture hall filled to capacity.
After speaking, Coulter opened up a question-and-answer session to students. Political science student Mike Tracey, a junior, asked Coulter about a statement she had made during her presentation, in which she claimed that Democrats are not as concerned with terrorism as Republicans, because their presidential candidate had the middle name of Hussein. According to various reports, Tracey asked Coulter, "Since you said Democrats are sympathetic to terrorists because the president has Hussein as a middle name, are you saying that all people with Muslim sounding names are sympathetic to terrorists?" Coulter replied, "You can't possibly be that stupid," and refused to answer the question posed by Tracey.
Undaunted, Tracey waited until the session was finished, and stood in the line of students waiting to have books signed and photographs taken with Coulter. After being informed that he could not wait in line to speak to Coulter because he did not have a book, Tracey left the line and approached Coulter's table, determined to receive an answer to his question. At that point, he was tackled, handcuffed and arrested. Video of the arrest shows Tracey lying on the ground, screaming loudly as three police officers surround and handcuff him. One of the officers appears to be kneeling on Tracey's head as Tracey repeatedly cries, "Get off my head!" The officers then dragged him from the building.
According to Tracey, not only did the officers neglect to read him his Miranda rights, but they verbally abused him as well, calling him profane names and taunting him with comments like, "I bet you were planning this for weeks," and, "I bet you'll be one of those guys throwing shoes at Obama."
After speaking, Coulter opened up a question-and-answer session to students. Political science student Mike Tracey, a junior, asked Coulter about a statement she had made during her presentation, in which she claimed that Democrats are not as concerned with terrorism as Republicans, because their presidential candidate had the middle name of Hussein. According to various reports, Tracey asked Coulter, "Since you said Democrats are sympathetic to terrorists because the president has Hussein as a middle name, are you saying that all people with Muslim sounding names are sympathetic to terrorists?" Coulter replied, "You can't possibly be that stupid," and refused to answer the question posed by Tracey.
Undaunted, Tracey waited until the session was finished, and stood in the line of students waiting to have books signed and photographs taken with Coulter. After being informed that he could not wait in line to speak to Coulter because he did not have a book, Tracey left the line and approached Coulter's table, determined to receive an answer to his question. At that point, he was tackled, handcuffed and arrested. Video of the arrest shows Tracey lying on the ground, screaming loudly as three police officers surround and handcuff him. One of the officers appears to be kneeling on Tracey's head as Tracey repeatedly cries, "Get off my head!" The officers then dragged him from the building.
According to Tracey, not only did the officers neglect to read him his Miranda rights, but they verbally abused him as well, calling him profane names and taunting him with comments like, "I bet you were planning this for weeks," and, "I bet you'll be one of those guys throwing shoes at Obama."
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