Citizen journalist gets thrown out of GOP rally in Georgia after capturing speaker making disparaging remarks about the Democratic Senate candidate.

Citizen journalist Nydia Tisdale with Attorney General Sam Olens at start of event.

Courtesy of AJC: It began with a speech by state Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens, who has earned local renown for speaking off the cuff. Last August, Hudgens became a video star on Democratic websites, when he declared himself an Obamacare “obstructionist.” 

But on Saturday, Hudgens’ target was Democrat Michelle Nunn, the U.S. Senate candidate, and her recent debate performance with Republican David Perdue. “I thought I was going to absolutely puke,” the state insurance commissioner said to much laughter. 

And then he looked at Tisdale, who was on the same front row as Gov. Nathan Deal and his wife. “I don’t know why you’re videotaping,” Hudgens said. 

Organizers of the event said they had barred Democratic trackers and their cameras – which they could, given that it was on private property. But Tisdale is not a tracker. “I don’t sell my work. I put it up on YouTube,” she would later explain. 

It doesn’t make sense, but if a political rally is to be conducted within a secret Cone of Silence, then the polite and sane thing to do is for someone in authority to go to the microphone and announce the policy – and apply it to everyone with a smart phone. 

From all we can learn, this did not happen. Instead, organizers targeted the woman with the camera in the front row. Brian Pritchard, a capitalist-journalist with fetchyournews.com, sat in the second row. He was not approached. Pritchard kept his voice recorder on and his camera snapping. 

Which is how we know what happened next. Clint Bearden, a local attorney and former Dawson County GOP chairman – and one of the organizers, asked Tisdale to stop her videography. She declined, pointing out that she had been invited to attend. 

A county deputy was summoned. As we said, Tisdale is driven. She did not go quietly. Her screams punctuated the event.

During the struggle Tisdale struggled, elbowing the officer in the face and kicking him in a shin. This got her charged with obstructing an officer, as well as for trespassing.  

Chairman of the Dawson Country GOP, Linda Clary Umberger, had this to say:  

“I watched as a woman was bent over the counter on her face, with an officer over her,” Umberger said. “If I had been her, I would have elbowed him in the face, too. 

“I was so upset at how they handled it – I walked out,” said the county GOP chairman. It was one of those seminal events, she said, likely to split relationships and end friendships. The arresting officer, fetchyournews.com would report Wednesday, has been suspended pending an internal investigation.

Here is the entire video that Tisdale posted a few days ago.

The remark about Michelle Nunn starts ate the 5:50 mark and the attack on Tisdale's civil rights begins at the 14:17 mark. 

I myself am a citizen journalist, who has also been thrown out of public venues, so I take this kind of thing personally.

This woman was well within her rights to film the event, especially since there was another person behind her doing the very same thing. 

The overreaction by some in attendance changed this from a ho-hum story to one that is now getting national attention.