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9:48 PM PT: UPDATE from TPM: CNN confirms incident, has no further comments.
An attendee at the Republican National Convention in Tampa on Tuesday allegedly threw nuts at a black camerawoman working for CNN and said “This is how we feed animals” before being removed from the convention, a network official confirmed to TPM.
In a written statement, CNN addressed the matter but divulged few details: “CNN can confirm there was an incident directed at an employee inside the Tampa Bay Times Forum earlier this afternoon. CNN worked with convention officials to address this matter and will have no further comment.”
TPM’s calls to RNC and convention officials were not immediately returned.
10:32 PM PT: Politico get confirmation from GOP Convention spokesperson Kyle Downey that two attendees racially harrassed the CNN camerawoman.
An ugly incident in Tampa...
It goes without saying that neither the RNC nor the convention organizers are responsible for every delegate and attendee. But the incident does not reflect well on a party that has extremely little support from the African American population. A recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found that 94 percent of African Americans surveyed supported President Obama, versus 0 percent -- yes, zero percent -- who supported Mitt Romney.
Wed Aug 29, 2012 at 9:03 AM PT: CNN (finally) reports the incident...
Two people removed from RNC after taunting black camera operator
Tampa, Florida (CNN) – Two people were removed from the Republican National Convention Tuesday after they threw nuts at an African-American CNN camera operator and said, “This is how we feed animals.”
Multiple witnesses observed the exchange and RNC security and police immediately removed the two people from the Tampa Bay Times Forum.
Wed Aug 29, 2012 at 3:11 PM PT: Current's David Shuster, who broke the story, has now blogged about the incident:
The anatomy of a race story at the RNC
Around 8:15 p.m. Tuesday night a television cameraman I know here in Tampa described an "ugly" and "despicable incident" involving potential delegates at the Republican convention heckling a camera operator working for CNN on or near the floor.
According to this account, at least one or two GOP delegates or credentialed alternates began taunting the CNN staffer — an African American woman.
And at some point, at least one or both GOP convention attendees tossed peanuts at the black camera op and said, "This is how we feed the animals."
The way the story was described to me, the CNN crew summoned security, which quickly identified the perpetrators of this incident and with the help of convention officials, ejected the perpetrators from the arena.
I was shocked by the story, but also concerned.
Wed Aug 29, 2012 at 4:01 PM PT: UPDATE from TPM: CNN Goes On Air With Story About Incident Against Network’s Black Camerawoman
On air this evening, CNN's Wolf Blitzer called attention to the network's earlier report on two Republican National Convention attendees throwing nuts at a black CNN camerawoman and saying, "This is how we feed animals." The attendees were removed from the Tampa Bay Times Forum after the exchange.
Blitzer called the incident "truly shocking" and said it "hit home" for everyone at the network. CNN political analyst Donna Brazile said during the segment she hopes the two attendees have their convention credentials revoked.