By:Jason Scheer
But in between Traslavina-s departure for the convention on Wednesday, Sept. 1, and his return home the following day, the only unique perspective he gained was on the goings-on inside a holding cell. He ended up in the custody of the Secret Service, detained by agents after he attempted to snap photos of a protest by the AIDS activist group ACT UP.
Traslavina, an editor of the Mule, attended the convention as part of the Junior Statesmen Foundation, a group he describes as a political Boy Scouts. Though his political loyalties are admittedly left of center, Traslavina wanted to attend the convention to become more acquainted with the Republican platform and politics in general. And he wanted to share his experience with his fellow Malverne students. My whole reason for going was to try to get a different perspect on the political process and to cover it for my paper, he said.
But his desire to capture the essence of the convention for his fellow students didn-t exactly work to his advantage. As White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card began to speak on Wednesday afternoon, ACT UP protesters stood up, held up banners and a sign and started to undress to reveal shirts with anti-Bush sentiments. A scuffle broke out, with punches exchanged and protesters and Bush supporters engaging in a short-lived shoving match.
Traslavina, seeing a newsworthy event unfolding before his eyes, approached the protesters, camera in hand, and began taking photos. But he was too late: Secret Service agents quickly swept through and removed the protesters. Traslavina then sat back down, discouraged that he had missed a gold en photographic opportunity.
Discouragement quickly turned to confusion, however, as a Secret Service agent grabbed Traslavina and accused him of being part of the protest. The teenager was taken to a security office in Madison Square Garden, along with the members of ACT UP. All were trying to explain to officials that there had been a mistake.
Once we were pulled back, we noticed this young man, who turned out to be Ben, said ACT UP member Mark Milano. One of the cops said they had identified him as being with us, but we said to them, ÔHe-s not with us. We never met him before.- And they just ignored us.
Traslavina thought it was just a matter of time before officials would believe him and let him go. I assumed that the system would work itself out and I would be released eventually without getting arrested, he said.
He was wrong.
After nearly four hours of trying to convince officals that he was just part of the crowd, Traslavina, along with Milano and the rest of the protesters, were taken to a crowded holding cell at Chelsea Piers. Many of the protesters who had been detained during the previous day-s session of the convention were still being held as Traslavina was led in late Wednesday evening. The facility did have one newly added amenity, however: carpeting.
I was lucky enough that I didn-t have to lie on the floor, like many of the other protesters, Traslavina said.
On Thursday afternoon, after a long, restless night of uncertainty, Traslavina was finally released to his parents. I was just waiting for something to happen, for the system to move, he said.
Before he left, however, he found out that he was being charged with inciting a riot a felony as well as misdemeanor assault and disorderly conduct. Traslavina hopes to be a lawyer someday, and he is worried that the charges being brought against him will hurt him academically and, in the long term, professionally. He has hired an attorney and plans to vigorously fight the charges.
He will have plenty of help. Milano said that he and his fellow ACT UP members will aid Traslavina any way they can. They arrested somebody who had just photographed the action, as many people in the press had, and wasn-t in any way disruptive or in any way linked to the action, Milano said. As for the serious charges being brought against Traslavina, Milano added, It-s completely outrageous, and we-re going to help him in any way we can.
For Traslavina, the incident is one he-ll certainly never forget. I think the experience I had was very unique, and I think I learned a lot from it, for better or for worse, he said.
Calls seeking comment from officials of the Republican National Convention had not been returned as of press time.
