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NYPD Detains Brooklyn Cyclist/Musician During Obama's Ground Zero Visit
By
Jen Chung
Published May 6, 2011
Modified May 6, 2011
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By
Jen Chung
Published May 6, 2011
Modified May 6, 2011
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The cops grabbed and held a "pushy" bicyclist with their guns drawn during an incident that occurred during President Obama's visit at Ground Zero. Matthew Duhaime had apparently been yelling in the crowd, "Secret Service, coming through!" while carrying a messenger bag and pushing a bike. The Daily News reports, "Cops jumped over barricades near a post office and rushed toward [him]," while yelling, "It's him! It's the guy with the Cubs hat!"
Cops apparently thought that Duhaime was acting suspiciously (obviously Cubs-following bicyclists are trouble!) and threw him to the ground. A cop reportedly yelled, "No guns! No guns! We got him!" The Wall Street Journal says that the cops acted because Duhaime, 30, "had earlier been waving his Chicago Cubs hat and then reached into his backpack." The NYPD said that two counterterrorism cops were concerned that he could "have been signaling the president’s arrival to possible cohorts, then possibly reaching in his backpack for a weapon or bomb." Duhaime's bag was checked and he eventually released.
Duhaime, who moved to Brooklyn from Chicago, has been pretty excited about Osama bin Laden's death: He has been singing at Ground Zero and even wrote a song about Bin Laden's demise (which he appears to have removed from YouTube).
Tagged
cyclist
ground zero
matt duhaime
matthew duhaime
president obama
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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