Anderson County deputies escorted Clemson professor Dr. Chenjerai Kumanyika and Clemson Ph.D candidate A.D. Carson from from a Donald Trump rally at the T. Ed Garrison Livestock Arena last Wednesday. Kumanyika, a supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement, posted a video of the incident on YouTube, which has received nearly 30,000 views.
In the video, Kumanyika is shown at the event wearing a keffiyeh, which is a Palestinian head scarf, while Carson is shown wearing a t-shirt that read “Zora & Langston & James & Claude,” African-American figures who represent the Harlem Renaissance.
“The Trump people said that you are no longer welcome here,” said a deputy in response to Kumanyika’s asking why he was told to leave.
Lt. Sheila B. Cole is the public information officer for the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office. Cole said that Anderson County deputies assisted with security.
“Two individuals were escorted from the event by deputies, at the request of the Trump Campaign,” said Cole. “One of the individuals was reportedly obstructing the view of others.”
A.D. Carson, a campus activist and founder of “See the Stripes,” disputed Cole’s statement.
“Nobody’s view was obstructed. I could plainly see that,” said Carson. “But if that was the case, and it wasn’t, there was ample opportunity for the officers or security to say something before they did. Lying about it now only serves the purpose of pretending, after the fact, that there was some actual justification.” Kumanyika said that others were standing as well. 
“This keffiyeh belongs to my wife,” he said when asked if he attended the rally with the intention of getting escorted out. “The person who helped me tie this keffiyeh attends Clemson and dresses in scarves like this every day. I feel I should be able to dress in that way and go into a democratic process and stand and do what everyone else is doing.” 
Kumanyika said that he expected attending the rally with the keffiyeh would either cause a response or not cause a response. “What I hoped would happen, in a way, was that nothing would happen.”
Kumanyika said that he still does not know why he was removed. 
“The point of the video was that I was not told why I was removed, but I was told that I was no longer welcome,” he said. Kumanyika also said that he believes security was trying to keep Trump and the attendees safe, given that violent acts of terrorism are possible at events like these. However, Kumanyika said that the shooting of nine African-Americans at the A.M.E. Church in Charleston, SC by Dylann Roof, a white male, was a terrorist attack.
“How was [Roof] dressed?” asked Kumanyika. “Like a lot of people at the [Trump] rally.”referring to the church shooting that took place in June. “How was [the terrorist] dressed?” asked Dr. Kumanyika, adding, “Like a lot of people at [the Trump] rally.”
One criticism of Kumanyika was that Muslims may be offended by the way he dressed because he does not identify as a Muslim.
“What I did is deeply vulnerable to that critique,” said Kumanyika, noting that he told individuals from the Muslim community about what he was planning. “I felt, if I can stand there in full, dressed as someone I would think as Muslim, and can participate in a democratic process at the Trump rally, it will actually help the Trump rally.”
Another Donald Trump rally will be held on Feb. 15 at the Greenville TD Convention Center.