An overzealous animal rights activist stormed the MoveOn Forum stage in a strange protest demonstration involving presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris.
On June 1, several Democratic presidential candidates took part in the Big Ideas forum hosted by MoveOn. The event came to a standstill when an animal rights activist, from the organization Direct Action Everywhere, rushed the stage.
According to the California-based organization, the activist identified as Aidan Cook attempted to convince candidates to adopt a platform calling out big agriculture and animal abuse. They want Harris “to support ordinary citizens rescuing animals rather than the factory farms that abuse animals,” the organization said in a statement.
I really don't want to be alarmist, but it took waaaaaaay too long for anyone who even looked like security personnel to get up on that stage. Its 2019. Let's be careful out there. https://t.co/P226S0eo8d
— Garrett Haake (@GarrettHaake) June 1, 2019
In footage from the incident, Cook jumped on stage, walked over to the California senator and ripped the mic from her hands.
The Hill reports Harris was discussing the gender wage gap moments before she was rudely interrupted.
"It's not a debatable point. Women have been paid less than men for decades for the same work."@KamalaHarris is taking on the gender pay gap for her big idea.#BigIdeas
https://t.co/KZPzYM6LTa— Karine Jean-Pierre (@K_JeanPierre) June 1, 2019
Karine Jean-Pierre, MoveOn's chief public affairs officer, was the first person to intervene. She stood between Cook and Harris. Jean-Pierre's quick thinking gave the senator time to move away from the protester. After nearly five or six seconds in the footage, security personnel dragged Cook off stage and the forum reportedly resumed.
We sincerely regret that a protestor was able to gain access to the stage at our forum today & we apologize to Sen. @KamalaHarris. The protestor was removed & the program resumed. MoveOn members were excited to hear Harris continue to discuss her Big Idea to achieve pay equity.
— MoveOn (@MoveOn) June 2, 2019
"The protestor was removed and the program resumed. MoveOn members were excited to hear Harris continue to discuss her Big Idea to achieve pay equity," the organization said in a Twitter statement.
After the madness on the MoveOn #BigIdeas stage, @KamalaHarris & I had a fun backstage moment w/ @JulianCastro & @Castro4Congress. #SiblingStrong ???????? pic.twitter.com/5oroCdFNV2
— Maya Harris (@mayaharris_) June 2, 2019
Following the chaos, Cook told reporter Lois Beckett that he meant no harm to Harris or anyone at the event.
“I did. I tried to show my profound respect for each of the people onstage.” However, he failed to miss how the optics of a white male snatching a mic away from a Black woman could be interpreted.
