Indian-American Man Assumed to be Protestor Ejected from Trump Rally

CHARLOTTE, NC (Diya TV) — An 18-year-old Charlotte college student who was ejected from Thursday’s Donald Trump rally in the state says he went from being an avid supporter of the Republican presidential nominee to an opponent after Trump’s security staff accused him of being a known protestor.

Jake Anantha, an Indian-American and registered Republican who planned to cast his first presidential vote for Trump in November, was even wearing one of the candidate’s shirt when police removed him from the rally at the Charlotte Convention Center. He and his father, Ramesh Anantha, say they believe he was profiled because of his dark skin.

“It’s unbelievably ironic,” said Ramesh Anantha, whose parents immigrated from India. He says his son, as a young person of color appearing at a rally where the Republican presidential nominee touted his support for people of color, “should have been looked at as a perfect Trump supporter. He should have been somebody they’re putting up on stage.”

Kirk Bell, communications director for Trump’s North Carolina campaign, said he would look into the incident. In an email Friday afternoon, he sent an email that said, in its entirety: “My statement is as follows: We were informed last night that security identified those individuals asked to leave as individuals who have been removed from previous events.”

Jake Anantha graduated from Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s Ardrey Kell High this year and enrolled at Central Piedmont Community College. His parents are conservative Republicans.

“When I saw him on TV, I personally didn’t mind his rhetoric,” Anantha said Friday. “I defended him. When people called him a racist, I said he’s a critic of our flawed immigration system. He’s strong on Islamic terrorism.”

After the incident, Jake now says he thinks he’ll vote for Libertarian Gary Johnson.