Haverford, Pa. (PA) – What would be an ordinary presidential campaign rally went south before Hillary Clinton’s arrival to the venue. Upper Darby Councilman Sheik Siddique, a Democrat who was recently elected, was one of a few hundred that local Hillary Clinton volunteers turned away.
Sheik Siddique, Democratic councilman for the 6th District of Upper Darby along with a number of people from the Bangladesh community were turned away after waiting in line for nearly four hours. Amongst one of those turned away, was James Dougherty, a Young Constituents correspondent from Philadelphia. Although James had been credentialed – a volunteer had removed him from the line & asked a Haverford Policeman to escort him off the property. The Haverford Policeman stated “I don’t care if you’re J Edgar fucking Hoover, you’re not getting in.” The campaign apologized for the horrible experience James endured while waiting to enter.
“I do not understand,” one Bangladesh man told Young Constituents. “I was on the list – I waited since 7:30 a.m. and took a day away from my work for this. The woman who is running for most powerful seat in the United States should not have such rude people running her event(s). We are Democrat – we are all Democrat, and we will still vote for her. I watched the workers in blue bring friends in front of us and I wondered if maybe it was because of my skin color.”
We reached out to a staff member at the Haverford Township code department who told us that they were not involved with the event at the Recreational Center – stating that he was “shocked” they did not involve him and could not comment on the capacity of the venue.
“One older woman said she wasn’t going to leave; she was excited to be part of a historical moment as she watched the event from the baseball field. That inspired me. It was my birthday so I was super disappointed and started tearing up when the police officer told us we wouldn’t get in,” Jamie Metzger of Delaware County told us.
Others were not as thrilled – stating their anger and disappointment in whoever organized the event. Many parents said they kept their children, specifically daughters, home from school after having the impression that their RSVP would work as a ticket.
“Hillary should’ve moved the event if she knew this many people were coming. She let over a thousand people reserve seats in a place that allegedly only holds a few hundred,” a woman told Young Constituents. “Why would she do that? Was nobody monitoring the RSVPs? I lost work and my daughter lost a day of school. I was the only one with an ‘I’m With Her’ sign on my lawn in my neighborhood,” giving the impression that she removed the sign after the experience at the event.
“I was there, couldn’t get in, got turned away! Sad, even though we were confirmed ‘Group A’ ticket holders! A little girl standing behind me burst out crying when they told our group we wouldn’t get in, this is after we were corralled and told we “would be seated for sure!” Lynn Cohen wrote on Facebook.