High schooler Quinn Mitchell went viral for an exchange with Ron DeSantis over the summer, but isn't sure what played out at a New Hampshire
Kelby Vera at HuffPost:
A teenage political enthusiast says he was accused of being a Democratic operative when he was booted from an event hosted by the New Hampshire Republican Party last week. Quinn Mitchell, a 15-year-old podcaster and high school student, made waves this summer after an exchange with Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. But he was shocked to find himself on the Republican Party’s radar during the First in the Nation Leadership Summit in Nashua, New Hampshire, on Oct. 13. “I don’t know the full story,” he told HuffPost in his first extensive interview on the subject. “I don’t think I ever will.”
After getting credentials early in the afternoon, Mitchell was able to watch remarks from presidential candidate and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at the event, which was hosted by the New Hampshire Republican Party. He planned to listen to long-shot candidate Perry Johnson next. But Mitchell said he was then approached by a woman calling him a known disruption and a Democratic tracker, a term for political operatives who record rivals on the campaign trail. Mitchell said the woman scuttled him into another room. He was questioned by the woman and a man, both of whom he believes worked for the national GOP and not for the New Hampshire Republican Party, he said. The teen found the accusations unbelievable. “People who know me, they know I’m not a Democrat tracker,” Mitchell told HuffPost. “They know I love the civic process in New Hampshire. I really love going to all the events. Anybody who knows me knows I’m never disruptive.”
Racking his brain over what the woman could be referring to, Mitchell said he could only point to an incident with DeSantis back in July. According to a report from The Daily Beast, the politician’s private security physically restrained and ejected the teen from a Fourth of July parade. At the New Hampshire event, Mitchell was ultimately escorted from the building by a team of cops, who he said were equally perplexed. The press corps witnessed the end of the ordeal, which was first reported on by the Boston Globe. A spokesperson from the event blamed the situation on “an overzealous volunteer” in a statement to The New York Times. She and Mitchell confirmed he was later allowed back inside, where he caught some of DeSantis’ speech but left before the Q&A. A spokesperson for DeSantis told the Times, “We were not involved in that decision” to remove Mitchell from the event.
[...] Having attended over 80 presidential campaign events in the past two election cycles, Mitchell said candidates should take their time getting to know the Granite State’s voters, who often set the tone for the primary cycle. New Hampshire primary voters will cast their ballots in early 2024 after Iowa voters kick off the primary season with caucuses on Jan. 15.
Quinn Mitchell, a 15-year-old political junkie who has been a regular presence at political events across New Hampshire in the run-up to the primary, got briefly ejected from a GOP event because a volunteer falsely accused him of being a "Democratic tracker."
