A Texas native who works for the reelection campaign of Sen. Mark Begich (D., Alaska) kicked an Alaska native out of a public campaign event this weekend after he attempted to film the event.
Tyler Slater, an Alaska resident who does freelance campaign "tracking" for the conservative group America Rising, was filmed being kicked out of a public town-hall meeting on diversity on Saturday.
Begich spokesman Max Croes caught the exchange on film. Unlike Slater, Croes is not from Alaska. (His Facebook page lists his hometown as Houston, Tex.)
"Anybody’s welcome to attend," Croes told local media prior to the event. "People are welcome to come and ask questions."
The Alaska Dispatch News reported on Slater’s ejection on Monday:
The incident is the most recent illustration of the growing role of trackers, who have been following Senate candidates from both parties in hopes of catching them making a gaffe.
Jeff Bechdel, America Rising’s communications director, said that Slater was "simply trying to record a public event of a public servant, and these guys are acting like they’ve got something to hide."
