CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ An 18-year-old Charlotte, N.C., college student who was ejected from Thursday's Donald Trump rally says he went from avid backer to disillusioned opponent after Trump's security accused him of being a known protester.
Jake Anantha, who registered as a Republican and cast his first primary vote for Trump, was wearing a Trump shirt when police removed him from the Charlotte Convention Center before the rally began. 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 Friday morning he's looking into the incident and will respond.
Jake Anantha graduated from Charlotte-Mecklenburg's Ardrey Kell High this year and enrolled at Central Piedmont Community College. His parents are conservative Republicans, but his dad says the teen's ardor for Trump sometimes made them say "Whoa!"
"When I saw him on TV, I personally didn't mind his rhetoric," Jake 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."
Anantha says he arrived at the Convention Center around 3:30 p.m., and when the crowd was admitted around 4:30 he took a position near the stage. He says he was standing there when a security staffer tapped his shoulder and asked him to come with him. He says the staffer said, "We know who you are. You've been at many other rallies."
Despite Anantha's protests that this was his first Trump rally and he was a supporter, police escorted him out. Because the event was private, the Trump staff could choose who was allowed to stay, and Anantha says police warned him not to cause a fuss and get arrested.
Rose Hamid, a Charlotte Muslim who has appeared at various Trump rallies to peacefully protest his depiction of Muslims, was ejected at the same time, as she was handing out flower pens as part of her "Salam, I come in peace" campaign.
Anantha says he stood outside the Convention Center watching a stream of white people enter.
"I thought (Trump) was for all people. I don't believe he is for all people anymore," he said. "Why are all these white people allowed to attend and I'm not?"
Jake and Ramesh Anantha say they realize it was not Trump who personally ordered the removal, but they say the candidate is responsible for the people he hires and the tone he sets.
"It was a very rude introduction into the world of politics," said Ramesh Anantha, who works in financial services. "We realize Donald Trump himself had nothing to do with this problem, but it's the type of campaign he's running."
Both men say they'd like an apology, but even if that happens, Trump has lost the family's vote.
Jake Anantha says he thinks he'll now cast his first presidential vote for Libertarian Gary Johnson.
