The Pennsylvania Republican Party has released video from a Joe Sestak rally that appears to show a Republican cameraman being harassed and assaulted by Sestak supporters. The event took place on Saturday in downtown Pittsburgh.
“Don’t get close to [sic] Senator,” said one man. “I’ll take you down right now if you get close to him. You understand?”
“You’re going to take me down?” asked the cameraman.
“Yeah.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, sir. All I’m trying to do is film. Hey, you give me a little space and I won’t have to get so close.”
“Buddy, shut up, alright? …. That’s a legal thing. That’s a legal [sic]. That’s a legal [sic], buddy, we know this is a game, alright?”
“Yeah, but the game isn’t touching people, alright? Back off a little bit. … Hey, don’t touch my foot, sir!”
At this point, the camera appears to lift off the ground, and within a few seconds comes crashing to the ground.
“Whoa, whoa! What are you doing? What are you pushing me for?”
“No one pushed you,” says a third man. “He tripped, I saw him trip. I trip myself all the time.”
Mike Barley, Pennsylvania Republican Party communications director, spoke to Battle ‘10 about the incident. “This type of activity is completely out of line,” said Barley.
“We would certainly not condone this type of behavior at any of our events and neither should the Sestak campaign. It is clear that many of Joe Sestak’s supporters are frustrated by the campaign’s inability to get any traction in Pennsylvania, but that is no excuse to resort to physical violence.”
Sestak has trailed Republican Pat Toomey in nearly every poll since the spring primary. The latest Rasmussen poll has Toomey leading by 9 points among likely voters, as did the most recent Susquehanna poll.