Pete Buttigieg Staffer Accused Of Removing Press Credential Of African-American Status Coup Cameraman
Jordan Chariton, a journalist and the CEO of progressive media company Status Coup, is accusing a staffer from Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg‘s campaign of removing the press credential of his African-American cameraman, Jamal Jones, after interviewing the candidate’s supporters.
According to Chariton, he was interviewing Buttigieg supporters who were waiting in line to one of his New Hampshire events. He claims a Buttigieg staff member was following him — “almost hanging over me” – as he was speaking to individuals outside.
“When I said ‘you’re not being subtle’ — she said ‘I know.’ This never happened 2 me at Trump/Biden/Hillary event,” he tweeted.
Not long after, Chariton tweeted that one of his staffers had their press credentials removed.
“After interviewing @PeteButtigieg supporters outside without issue, 1 of his staffers came up to my cameraman (an African American male) and ripped off his press credential saying ‘I don’t think you’re supposed to have credentials.'”
The news comes after Buttigieg made an appearance at the 12,000-person SNHU Arena for the annual McIntyre-Shaheen Hundred Club Event, where The Hill reports Democrats made their final pitch to voters ahead of the state’s primary on Tuesday.
After Buttigieg took aim at Bernie Sanders‘ movement during his speech, Sanders’ supporters erupted into chants of “Wall Street Pete,” which prompted Buttigieg’s supporters to chant “Boot-Edge-Edge.”
NEWS: While @StatusCoup covered @PeteButtigieg NH rally earlier that WE HAD MEDIA CREDENTIALS FOR, a Buttigieg staffer went up to my cameraman @cinematicjones—an African American—& pulled his name tag off before saying:
"I don't think you're supposed to have credentials.” pic.twitter.com/A4vGKvIOx5
— Jordan (@JordanChariton) February 9, 2020
Before Buttigieg took the stage, a Law & Crime report released the same day claimed that his campaign accepted money from GOP billionaire Leonard “Len” Blavatnik, who reportedly has “direct links to the Russian oligarchy.” Blavatnik has allegedly donated to Donald Trump as well as political action committees for high-profile Republicans like Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, and John McCain.
Buttigieg’s campaign has come under scrutiny from progressives for his funding from billionaires as well as his record as South Bend Mayor. In a recent attack ad, former Vice President Joe Biden slammed Buttigieg’s mayoral record. Per The Chicago Sun Times, he pointed to the 38-year-old politician’s decision to fire South Bend’s African American police and fire chiefs and highlighted his difficulty gaining the support of the African American community.
Chants of #WallStreetPete drown out #Buttigieg when he takes a shot at #Bernie's grassroots movement.pic.twitter.com/UJ2gCcEnys
— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) February 9, 2020
In a statement, Buttigieg national press secretary Chris Meagher suggested the attacks are not aligned with the desires of Americans.
“At this moment, the American people are crying out for something completely different from this classic Washington style of politics,” he said.
Meagher also claimed that Biden’s decision to run the ad speaks more to his current position in the race than Buttigieg’s “perspective as a mayor and veteran.”
