Presidential candidate Ron Paul's supporters just can't catch a break, at least in Orlando.
Local volunteers were initially told they couldn't pass out the Texas Republican's campaign literature at the city's Independence Day celebration at Lake Eola Park, Fireworks at the Fountain, unless they rented a booth for $1,500. Orlando campaign coordinator Nick Egoroff said he was told he could be arrested if he tried to hand out political fliers at the public park. The city backed down, saying it was all a misunderstanding, after Egoroff contacted the Orlando Sentinel.
But Egoroff said the volunteers were still hassled by a park official and a handful of cops, who threatened them with arrest unless they stopped handing out fliers. Egoroff, who was dressed like George Washington to commemorate the holiday, said he thought he was headed for the slammer. But the police changed their tone when a TV reporter started filming the incident.
"We would have been arrested yesterday. It was only because the media was there that we weren't carted off," he said. "And I'm a Republican, not some long-haired hippy. If they could treat us this way, I shudder to think what minorities put up with."
What the hell is going on here?
