Protester Seen With GUN Outside Obama Town Hall

Source: The Raw Story

DEVELOPING

President Obama traveled to Portsmouth, New Hampshire Tuesday for what many feared could be a rowdy ‘town hall-style’ meeting at a time when some foes of his healthcare overhaul have shouted down lawmakers holding similar events around the country. But no such disruptions occurred at the event.

Earlier, MSNBC’s Ron Allen reported that cameras filmed a protester with a handgun strapped to his leg the meeting before Obama arrived. The man was seen carrying a sign saying “It’s time to water the tree of liberty.”

The man’s “tree of liberty” sign is a reference to Thomas Jefferson, who said “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”

Allen says the Portsmouth police chief told him the man’s gun is legal, because he is on private property — he is on the grounds of a nearby church. Police say his gun is registered and he can keep it on him as long as it is not concealed.

“The police are obviously keeping a close eye on this man … and I suspect that he won’t be here when the president arrives in a few hours’ time,” Allen told viewers.

UPDATE

New Hampshire TV station WMUR is reporting that the Secret Service had a pick-up truck towed away from the site of President Obama’s town hall in Portsmouth “for security reasons,” after a bomb-sniffing dog circled the vehicle several times.

“Officials said a Secret Service bomb dog had a hit on the truck, but they did not say whether there was a specific threat detected,” WMUR reports. “The truck had masonry equipment in it … It was parked in the furthest lane away from the rally, closer to media satellite trucks.”

An administration official said, “He’ll discuss what health insurance reform will mean for Americans who already have insurance, highlighting the consumer protections he laid out in recent weeks and focusing on ending denial of coverage based on pre-existing conditions.”

Around 1,800 people are expected to attend Tuesday’s meeting. According to the Associated Press, 70 percent were given tickets based on a random lottery — “a potentially dicey crowd in a state known for its grass-roots political activism.”

Added AP: “Hours before Obama was to arrive at Portsmouth High School, the road leading to the event site was lined with people — about 100 supporters of Obama’s health care overhaul on one side and about half as many opponents on the other.”

This video is from MSNBC’s News Live, broadcast Aug. 11, 2009.