Things got interesting on Saturday during MoveOn's "Big Ideas" forum at the California Democratic Party convention. A protestor with a press pass jumped on stage, walked up to Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) and took the microphone from her hand.
In the clip, Harris' husband, Douglas Emhoff, can be seen jumping on stage, trying to pull the microphone out of the guy's hand.
JUST IN: Protester comes on stage and takes microphone from Sen. Harris during a political forum featuring multiple 2020 presidential candidates in San Francisco on Saturday; protester was taken off stage and Sen. Harris continued with her session. pic.twitter.com/oPiSqpKvpr
— NBC News (@NBCNews) June 1, 2019
According to a Boston Globe reporter, the man is an animal rights activist.
The man bun guy who rushed the stage and grabbed Harris’ mic is giving interviews outside the venue and says he’s an animal rights activist
— Liz Goodwin (@lizcgoodwin) June 1, 2019
Naturally, the issue of race and gender came up.
I asked Aidan Cook, an animal rights activist who jumped onstage to interrupt Kamala Harris, if he had considered the optics of literally taking the microphone away from women of color.
— Lois Beckett (@loisbeckett) June 1, 2019
“I did,” he said. “I tried to show my profound respect for each of the people onstage.” pic.twitter.com/uyMpV82lVP
Cook, 24, said he tried to show his respect while grabbing Kampala’s mike by keeping his hands up and telling her “I’m really sorry to be doing this, I just have to ask you an important question.”
— Lois Beckett (@loisbeckett) June 1, 2019
Apparently the man is part of the Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) group. According to their website, the group is compromised of "a community of activists seeking total animal liberation through nonviolent direct action and open rescue."
From @DxEverywhere: An activist took the mic during the MoveOn’s Big Ideas Forum in San Francisco after Kamala Harris addressed the crowd. Aidan Cook, part of the global network Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), was eventually hauled off by security.
— Terry Collins (@terryscollins) June 1, 2019