NY Times reporter claims Trump campaign removed her from president's Michigan rally
Kathy Gray had noted lack of mask-wearing at campaign event
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A New York Times reporter has alleged that she was "escorted" out of Thursday night's Trump rally in Freeland, Mich.
"I’ve just been kicked out of the trump [sic] rally," Michigan-based journalist Kathy Gray tweeted. Gray had previously been live-tweeting from the rally before the alleged ejection.
In a second tweet, Gray wrote: "First for me: Trump campaign tracked me down from pics i [sic] tweeted and escorted me out."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Gray told Fox News, "I had applied for credentials and never heard back, so I was there on a general admission ticket. That's why they told me they were asking me to leave."
A member of the Trump campaign told Fox News that Gray did not apply for press credentials "though the normal process" and was with the general audience instead of the designated press area.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The campaign aide also said that Gray was allowed to stay in the general admission area as long as she followed the "firm rule" the campaign has on journalists not reporting from outside the press area, but she declined, prompting the campaign to ask her to leave the rally.
A Times spokesperson told Fox News, "We're disappointed that the Trump campaign refused to credential our freelancer and then, when she registered and attended as a member of the public, they ejected her from the event. Our goal is to cover these campaign events and talk to voters about the candidates, and that's what Kathy was trying to do."
Gray had tweeted earlier in the evening that the rally had attracted "thousands" of people, "[m]aybe 10%" of whom had masks.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}TWEET CLAIMING TRUMP RALLYGOERS DIDN'T WEAR MASKS IS MOCKED, AS IMAGE SEEMS TO SHOW OPPOSITE
She then shared a picture, which she captioned: "Crammed in crowd in the rain for trump [sic] rally in michigan [sic]. Not many masks."
It is unclear whether that was the image that allegedly prompted the Trump campaign to escort Gray out of the rally.
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Journalists have repeatedly documented the lack of mask-wearing and social distancing at Trump campaign events amid the coronavirus outbreak. Critics of the president have repeatedly slammed him for holding crowded gatherings despite CDC and local guidelines.
Critics of the media have in turn blasted reporters for not expressing such concerns about various Black Lives Matter protests that have taken place in cities nationwide following the death of George Floyd, alleging a double standard.