MoveOn.org Activist Lauren Valle
MoveOn.org employee, Lauren Valle, was stepped on by a Rand Paul supporter at the Paul/Conway debate in Lexington last night. Valle told police she was attempting to get a picture with Paul holding a sign she made to embarrass him in commercials.
The seasoned liberal activist was wrestled to the ground while police were called. The unidentified person who stepped on Valle was immediately reprimanded and told to stop by other Paul supporters. Police say Valle refused medical treatment.
Paul’s campaign released a statement on the melee, calling it “incredibly unfortunate.”
“Violence of any kind has no place in our civil discourse and we urge supporters on all sides to be civil to one another as tensions rise heading toward this very important election,” the statement said.
Valle was arrested in May for a Greenpeace protest in Louisiana following the B.P. oil spill, and in 2008 she was detained in China for a “Free Tibet” protest.
In another incident, a Jack Conway supporter stomped on the foot of a Rand Paul supporter who recently had foot surgery. The woman was wearing a surgical boot but an incision was cut open.
No arrests were made at the debate, but assault charges have been filed.
I was there and the guy that put his foot on her was an off duty sheriff. She was screaming and ranting with a disguise on and everyone thought it was an assignation attempt. of course the liberal media doesn’t show this out of work professional nut case protester’s rant before she was subdued. Oh and her head wasn’t stomped on. he put his foot on her shoulder to keep her down until they could assess if she was safe to be around normal people.
Assignation attempt? She wanted to sleep with Ron Paul?
Since when is it acceptable for anybody to put their foot on another person? It has been said, the iconic image of fascism is a boot stomping on a human face. This comes pretty close.
“Normal people”? Really? None of the people I know think that it’s OK to step on anybody, anywhere. Guess we’re all abnormal, then.
Since they were holding this idiot down until the police got there. She was wearing a disguise! Why???? What a Nutjob.
An off duty sheriff has no rights to stomp on someone’s head. She had a concussion. “Out of work professional nut case protester’s rant” WOW
Yea, people always wear a disguise to a protest???
No one condones violence in the political process; not by conservatives, not by union members, and not by anyone else. We see too much of that going on in Europe. We are not Europe, at least not yet. One Paul supporter is heard in the video trying to stop the violence, indicating that not everyone there was involved or condoned the actions of the few.
In a Washington Post article Valle said she was “targeted” and that the attack was “premeditated.” The reason, she states, was because, “They identified me as a MoveOn worker, and as someone they knew from prior campaign events.” What happened at previous events that led to her being identified as a threat?
She also admitted she was there to present Paul a fake award. The purpose was to create controversy and attempt to embarrass Paul. Did that have anything to do with how she was treated?
Valle also said they formed a “blockade” behind her. Did her attackers simply beat up on an innocent bystander or did she attempt to break through the blockade to incite a disturbance?
Judging such incidents on appearances can be deceiving. Things are not always what they appear to be. Often actions must be interpreted by motive. What was Valle’s motive in being there? What was the motive of those who used such force to restrain her?
Too often we prejudge a situation based on very limited information. I have been guilty of that as much as others. However, the only way to have meaningful dialog is to make every effort to set aside our prejudice along with inflammatory remarks and stick to the real issues.
There are no variables in this story. She was there to protest as is her right… she could have been in a clown suit. She had done nothing wrong at the time of being tossed down and stomped on. This is violence and can be whitewashed, excused, minimized, and ridiculed,
but it was excessive violence. That is the real issue.
do you think it is right to close down limewire?