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Clinton Campaign Shuts Down Black Lives Matter Protest

After The New Republic on Tuesday preemptively reported that a small number of Black Lives Matter activists were on their way to a Hillary Clinton campaign stop in Keene, New Hampshire, the potential protest against the leading Democratic presidential candidate never took place because security at the event barred the group entry.

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Instead of having the opportunity to confront Clinton in a public setting—such as those recently faced by candidate Bernie Sanders—the five activists from Massachusetts, including Black Lives Matter Boston founder Daunasia Yancey, were ushered into an overflow room to watch the event and later treated to a closed-door meeting with Clinton to which reporters were not allowed.

According to TNR:

In a tweet, Black Lives Movement-Boston characterized their failed attempt to protest the event a success because they had “gotten the attention of [Clinton’s campaign] staff” and “now they are working with us.”

However, in response to that tweet, others were questioning that narrative:

In the aftermath of BLM protests against Sanders last month at NetRootsNation, a national gathering of mostly liberal Democratic voices, it was suggested by some critics that while Sanders—the longest-serving Independent in Congress, a self-described socialist, and the most progressive Democratic presidential candidate with a long record of fighting for economic, social, and racial justice—was loudly confronted by activists, Clinton has been noticeably spared (or masterfully avoided) the media spectacle of such confrontations. Going further, Bruce Dixon, co-editor of the Black Agenda Report, argued that what happened at Net Roots had “ominous” implications for some Black Lives Matters activists and the Democratic Party machine:

Strikingly, neither the Clinton campaign nor the Black Lives Matter activists themselves on Tuesday appear to have made strong efforts to have the private meeting covered by the national press gathered at the event. According to CNN:

As of this writing, the video has yet to be released, though the group, in a tweet, said it would be posted as soon as it’s ready.