ANN O’NEIL
CNN.COM
Tampa, Florida (CNN) — Vermin Supreme — yes, that’s his real name — was in his element at the “free speech zone” way, way, wa-a-a-a-y outside the sports arena hosting the Republican National Convention. He stood with a bullhorn in that tense gap between the front lines of police and two sets of protesters.
The cops were tricked out in their riot “turtle suits,” and one group of protesters, led by a red-and-black anarchist flag, was intent on disrupting the planned demonstration of another, the anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church.
The gray-bearded hippie standing between them wore a boot on his head.
“Between the cops and the protesters, there’s a vacuum. That’s the space I occupy,” Vermin Supreme explained afterward. “It looked a little scary. It looked like it might get tense.”
The self-described “friendly fascist,” who is a perennial presidential candidate and veteran of countless protests, recited passages from police manuals on crowd control tactics. Using the bullhorn, he urged calm: “Nobody needs to get hurt here.” A man next to him started to warble “Over the Rainbow,” and Vermin Supreme felt soothed. He held the bullhorn close to the singer, letting the melody wash over the crowd of about 150.
The tension melted away. It was, he said, “a beautiful moment.”
via Vermin Supreme: The protester who would be president – CNN.com.
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