Mohamed Khairullah, a Democrat mayor in New Jersey, was denied a security clearance by Secret Service hours before a White House event with President Biden on Monday for a Muslim holiday.
Khairullah said he was in town for the annual Eid al-Fitr celebration as he learned he would not be allowed entry.
"It's disappointing, and it's shocking that this continues to happen under our Constitution, which provides that everyone is innocent unless proven guilty," Khairullah said, according to NorthJersey.com. "I honestly don’t know what my charge, if you want to put it that way, is at this point, to be treated in such a manner."
The Secret Service confirmed Monday that Khairullah was denied entry, but a spokesman said they are unable to disclose why.
"While we regret any inconvenience this may have caused, the mayor was not allowed to enter the White House complex this evening," said Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the U.S. Secret Service, according to the NorthJersey website. "Unfortunately we are not able to comment further on the specific protective means and methods used to conduct our security operations at the White House."
Khairullah has served as mayor of Prospect Park for 17 years as a member of the Democratic Party. He said his denial was a surprise because he worked with White House staffers to organize the Eid al-Fitr celebration.
Khairullah said he was held at JFK Airport for three hours in 2019 after his return to the country from Turkey with his family.
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"I think right now my crime is my name," he said.