#BlackLivesMatter activists disrupted a Bernie Sanders campaign rally in Seattle over the weekend by storming the stage and commandeering the microphone. Sanders was also interrupted by similar protests during an appearance at the Netroots Nation conference in Phoenix last month. As some have noted, Sanders appears to be the target of these activist disruptions far more often than any other candidate, particularly Hillary Clinton, who is considered the most likely to win the presidency in 2016.
Quick question: is there a reason that #BlackLivesMatter seems focused on disrupting Bernie Sanders events more than other candidates?
— Daniel Drezner (@dandrezner) August 9, 2015
Hillary didn't even bother showing up at Netroots Nation, waiting several days after the event to write "Black live matter" during a Facebook Q&A. It was shrewd recovery from an earlier gaffe—her suggestion in June that "all lives matter," a problematic phrase that got Martin O'Malley booed at the Netroots conference.
Maybe Hillary's campaign is just so stage-managed and draconian about who it lets into its events that #BlackLivesMatter activists can't give her the same treatment they've given Sanders. But if the campaign was regularly preventing these activists from attending her events, wouldn't we have heard about it by now? Why does Sanders, someone who has a long history of fighting for civil rights and social justice, and who recently hired a supporters of the #BlackLivesMatter movement, seem to be targeted more than anyone else?
Here is Hillary Clinton's campaign schedule for the month of August, courtesy of America Rising:
Monday, August 10
-5:30PM: Hillary Clinton will attend a grassroots organizing event at McIntyre Ski Area in Manchester, NH
Tuesday, August 11
-10:00AM: Hillary Clinton will attend a town hall meeting at River Valley Community College in Claremont, NH
-2:30PM: Hillary Clinton will hold a community forum on substance abuse at Keene Middle School in Keene, NH
Friday, August 14
-5:00PM: Hillary Clinton will speak at the Iowa Democratic Party Wing Ding at Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, IA
Sunday, August 16
-11:30AM: Hillary Clinton will attend a campaign fundraiser at the home of Carol and Frank Biondi in Martha’s Vineyard, MA
-2:00PM: Hillary Clinton will attend a campaign fundraiser at the home of Ambassador Elizabeth Frawley Bagley in Nantucket, MA
Saturday, August 22
-6:00PM: Hillary Clinton will attend a dinner reception at Selma and Arthur "Artie" Rabin’s estate in Water Mill, NY
Thursday, August 27
-TBD: Hillary Clinton will hold a grassroots organizing meeting in Cleveland, OH (location TBA)
-12:30PM: Hillary Clinton will attend a campaign fundraiser at the home of Judi Embrescia in Cleveland, OH
Friday, August 28
-TBD: Hillary Clinton will speak at a Democratic National Committee meeting in Minneapolis, MN
-TBD: Hillary Clinton will attend a campaign fundraiser at the home of Dean Phillips in Wayzata, MN
Sunday, August 30
-TBD: Hillary Clinton will attend a campaign fundraiser at the home of Hilary Leff and Elliot Groffman in East Hampton, NY
-TBD (morning): Hillary Clinton will attend a breakfast fundraiser at the home of Susan and Alan Patricof in East Hampton Village, NY
-12:00PM: Hillary Clinton will attend a fundraiser at the home of Tory Burch in Southampton, NY