Black Lives Matter protesters were prevented from entering a Hillary Clinton campaign event in New Hampshire Tuesday after U.S. Secret Services locked the doors to the event.
Five members of the Boston chapter of the Black Lives Movement were planning to question the Democratic presidential candidate at an event in Keene. The group shared its plans and a list of talking points and questions with The New Republic just shortly before the campaign event.
According to reporters on the scene, the protesters showed up late and a fire marshal and Secret Service agents blocked them from entering the event. Campaign spokesman Nick Merrill offered to swap out people who were already inside the event so that the Black Lives Matter protesters could enter. They declined the offer but requested to meet with Clinton in an overflow room set up at the event, which was held at Keene Middle School.
It is unclear which attendees would have been kicked out of the event in exchange for the activists.
The overflow set up proved moot, however, when the Black Lives Matter group backed out of the arrangement when they learned that media would be inside.
The activists’ visit comes after other Black Lives Matter chapters have disrupted campaign events held by Clinton’s closest competitors, Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley.
Sanders had a campaign event in Portland hijacked over the weekend by Black Lives Matter protesters. He was also present with O’Malley at Netroots Nation when activists with the group disrupted the conference.
Clinton did not attend that event. Some speculated she sought to avoid being directly confronted by protesters.
According to The New Republic, Boston Black Lives Matter leader Daunasia Yancey planned to ask Clinton several hard-hitting questions about her stance on racial equality and criminal justice issues.
“Can you give at least one tangible example of how you expect to reverse the health and human services disaster you orchestrated in impoverished, urban, non-white communities through the domsetic [War on Drugs] policy you’ve championed as FLOTUS & Senator?” reads one question, according to The New Republic.
“Is it your plan, as POTUS, to finally put an end to the International War on Drugs … you waged as Sec. of State or is your intention to continue to oversee its horrendous expansion?” reads another.
This article has been updated to reflect additional information.