Supporters of Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) blocked an Army veteran from attending a public Brown appearance Tuesday, then physically blocked him from leaving the parking lot and berated him for supporting Republican challenger Josh Mandel.
Brown visited the USW in Canton, OH on October 30, 2012. After two Josh Mandel supporters attended the event were told they were not permitted inside the hall, the two Mandel supporters attempted to exit the parking lot. This was not a closed press meeting; rather, this was an event open to the media. At this point, Ohio Democratic Party members, including Lauren Harmon of the Ohio Democratic Party Women’s Caucus, blocked the car from the front and other union members blocked the vehicle from behind, refusing to let them leave.
Union members surrounded the vehicle of the two Mandel supporters. One union member verbally accosted the driver of the vehicle, an Army veteran, saying:
Sherrod Brown has always been there for us. Thank God for him. Thank God for Obama. And no for Mandel… Shame on any veteran who would vote for him… Mandel should be f#$%ing ashamed of himself… You’re a disgrace… You should be ashamed of that crest [Army crest] you’ve got on there [referring to the hat the army veteran wore].
When the Mandel supporter calmly told the Sherrod Brown supporters, “hope you have a nice week,” one of the Brown supporters preventing the army veteran from leaving, responded, “hope you have a rotten week.”
The Sherrod Brown campaign, the USW, and the Ohio Democratic Party have thus far remained silent concerning the intimidation tactics used to threaten the Army veteran at Brown’s visit to Canton, OH.
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