On Friday, October 15th,
President Nixon was in Charlotte,
North Carolina to take part in
ceremonies honoring evangelist
Billy Graham. Many students were
among the large crowd seeking
admission to the rally in the
Charlotte Coliseum that afternoon.
But when the students, or at least
those with long hair, reached the
doors, they were turned away by
policemen and Secret Service
agents. When the agents were asked
for a reason for denying the
students entrance, the replies varied
from "your ticket is counterfeit"
to "no speaka English." After
trying in vain at other entrances,
the students were driven back from
the doors and five were arrested for
disturbing the peace.
Meanwhile, inside the building,
the few students who had been
allowed to enter were questioned,
frisked, and then thrown out by
Secret Service men, who would
only say they were following
orders. A religion professor from a
nearby college was likewise forced
to leave when he demanded that
two of his students, who held
legitimate tickets, be admitted.
Even a middle-aged housewife with
her 10-year-old son were ejected
when she was seen talking with a
group of long-haired students.
Later, when asked comment,
the head of the Secret Service
detachment at first claimed to
know nothing about the incidents;
then he tried to place the blame on
the "local redneck police."
However, The Charlotte Observer,
the rather conservative local
newspaper, saw through these
excuses and severely criticized the
Secret Service for their actions.
In Charlotte Richard Nixon
again demonstrated his true regard
for the ideals of American
democracy in a manner reminiscent
of Hitler's Brown Shirts, he used his
Secret Service agents to forcibly
exclude a group of citizens from a
public meeting. But at least Hitler's
storm troopers were private citizens;
the Secret Service is a
government-paid unit, hired to
protect the President from physical
attack, not to be used as his
personal political thugs.
