No, that remark wasn\u2019t actually made.\u00a0 But based on what happened it might as well have been.<\/p>\n
It seems the VP attended a domestic violence event recently.\u00a0 A student from the University of Maryland, Jeremy Barr \u2013 who is also an accredited journalist for the Capital News Service \u2013 attended.\u00a0 He was covering the event.<\/p>\n
Barr took pictures.\u00a0 So did some of the other people around him.<\/p>\n
After the event, Barr was approached by a member of the VPs staff.\u00a0 That staffer demanded to see his camera \u2013 and deleted his photos<\/a>.\u00a0 He also demanded to see Barr\u2019s iPhone to ensure Barr had not downloaded any of the photos to that device.<\/p>\n Barr was further detained another 10 minutes because the staffer needed to \u201ctalk to a supervisor\u201d.\u00a0 Then he was permitted to go.<\/p>\n The VP\u2019s press office later apologized, saying that the incident had been \u201ca mistake\u201d.\u00a0 Of course, they only did so after the dean of the University of Maryland\u2019s Philip Merrill College of Journalism, Lucy A. Daglish, called them with a complaint.<\/p>\n “A mistake.”\u00a0 Certainly.\u00a0 Everybody knows<\/em> you can’t take photos at a public event held in a public place.\u00a0 How dare he!<\/p>\n Why, Barr should just be glad he wasn’t sent to a closet to cool his heels<\/a>.\u00a0 Or prevented from talking to members of the public<\/a> at the event.\u00a0 Oh wait – sorry, those were “mistakes” by the VP’s staffers, too.<\/p>\n Daglish had a rather dim view of the incident, calling it \u201cintimidation\u201d.\u00a0 Barr’s editor thinks that Barr has a good case if he wants to sue.<\/p>\n I have to agree with both.\u00a0 Although I\u2019d personally probably use a somewhat earthier term than \u201cintimidation\u201d to describe what happened here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"