This was a major security lapse. Twice! A crazed looking bearded man jumped on stage and took a microphone out of the hands of Democrat presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) at the MoveOn “Big Ideas” candidate forum in San Francisco Saturday afternoon. Harris was not harmed and left the stage. However it took security several long seconds to hustle the man off as he remained on stage speaking into the mic–and then the security agents took him right to where Harris was hiding off stage!
UPDATE AT END. Man had press credentials and! And turns out to be an animal rights activist.
Harris was seated on stage holding a microphone next to two other women who were asking her questions when the man jumped on stage and walked straight to Harris and reached for the mic. A startled Harris gave him the mic as one the two female moderators leapt from her seat and belatedly got between Harris and the man. After a couple seconds Harris stood up and walked away as female staffers surrounded the man and finally men (including Harris’ husband) showed up to take control and hustle the man off stage.
Harris returned on stage right after the man was secured off stage.
Video was posted to Twitter by Face The Nation:
At the #BigIdeas @MoveOn festival moments ago — @KamalaHarris was on stage answering questions when a man jumped on stage and grabbed her microphone.
The senator came back out on stage to finish her speech about #EqualPay. pic.twitter.com/TtHLYSDUta
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) June 1, 2019
Alternate view from online video feed:
Crazy dude just rushed @KamalaHarris at @MoveOn #bigideas pic.twitter.com/ufDUvrjPuQ
— Kristina LaPlant (@KMLPAVPIIIPHD) June 1, 2019
Audience video picks up after the man has taken the mic from Harris:
.@KamalaHarris just had the mic taken from her after a man jumped on stage and bombarded her during her segment at the @MoveOn #BigIdeas forum pic.twitter.com/cifwuxZC0a
— 😻 (@maybeaustin) June 1, 2019
This video starts with Harris walking off stage tp stage right. In a bad security lapse in top of allowing the man to get right up to Harris on stage, security takes him stage right to where Harris had escaped. Fortunately Harris is seen returning on stage doing a little dance as the crowd chants, “Kamala!, Kamala!”.
Alarming moment at the #moveon event where several presidential candidates have been speaking. A man just jumped on stage while Sen. @KamalaHarris was talking and took her mic. pic.twitter.com/iTyRcbUwSr
— Joyce Koh (@JoyceKohTV) June 1, 2019
Scary.
Update: Screen image shows man had press credentials for the MoveOn forum.
Source:
https://twitter.com/tlamb775/status/1134973147160047616
The Hill reported the man is an animal rights activist:
The protester, named Aidan Cook, said he wanted ask for Harris’ attention on “a much bigger idea” before he was removed from the stage by security. Harris continued speaking after his removal.
Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), an animal rights organization based in California, said in a statement that the man was an activist who wanted to call on Harris “to support ordinary citizens rescuing animals rather than the factory farms that abuse animals.”
And then the media interviews began:
I asked Aidan Cook, an animal rights activist who jumped onstage to interrupt Kamala Harris, if he had considered the optics of literally taking the microphone away from women of color.
“I did,” he said. “I tried to show my profound respect for each of the people onstage.” pic.twitter.com/uyMpV82lVP
— Lois Beckett (@loisbeckett) June 1, 2019
The guy who took Kamala Harris’ mic, Aidan Cook, 24 of Oakland, said he’s trying to bring more attention to the mass extinction of animals. He is not being charged with a crime, he told us, adding that the MoveOn security crew was “cool about it.” pic.twitter.com/PLxpX5jbEw
— Christopher Cadelago (@ccadelago) June 2, 2019