Georgia Tech student records as Sen. David Perdue appears to snatch his phone away
ATLANTA – It's typical of politicians to dodge questions they don't like, but a senator from Georgia is accused of taking it a step further.
A Georgia Tech student captured a video that appears to show Republican Sen. David Perdue snatching his cellphone after he tried to ask the senator a question about Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp on camera. Perdue was campaigning for the Republican gubernatorial candidate Saturday when the exchange took place.
The student, who asked not to be identified, told WXIA that he is a member of Georgia Tech's chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America. The video was shared on the YDSA Georgia Tech group's Twitter account.
He said he was trying to ask Perdue how he could support Kemp when his Democratic opponent, Stacey Abrams, has accused the Republican candidate of working to suppress minority voters ahead of the November election.
Perdue can be seen in the video interrupting the student's question, saying, "No, I'm not doing that." The screen then goes black for an instant before the recording resumes with the phone apparently in motion.
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The senator tells the student, "If you want a picture, I can give it to you." At the same time, the student can be heard accusing the senator of stealing his property and demanding he return the phone.
Perdue walks away shortly after, greeting supporters while the student follows along, saying, "He won't answer why he's endorsing a candidate who's trying to purge people from voting on the basis of their race."
Abrams and her supporters allege Kemp has intentionally held up 53,000 new voter registration applications, 70 percent of which are from African Americans. Kemp has denied the allegation, which he dismissed as a "publicity stunt."
"Perdue would have been within his legal rights to simply walk away or decline the question," the YDSA said in a statement. "But instead, he forcibly, suddenly and violently took their phone without justification or provocation."
Perdue's office said the senator merely thought the student wanted him to take a selfie with his phone.
"Senator Perdue spent several hours meeting with hundreds of people at the Georgia Tech game this weekend," Perdue's spokesman told WXIA in a statement. "In this instance, the senator clearly thought he was being asked to take a picture, and he went to take a selfie as he often does. When he realized they didn’t actually want to take a picture, he gave the phone back."
A leader of Georgia Tech's YDSA chapter, who also requested anonymity for fear of retaliation told The Associated Press that the student did ask the senator to take a photo with him before the exchange captured on video. He said Perdue only grabbed the phone after the student began recording and questioning him,
The student who had his phone grabbed told WXIA he is considering filing a police report for theft and robbery. But the Georgia Tech chapter of the YDSA expressed doubt that anything would come of it.
"Unfortunately the cops work for wealthy plutocrats like him," the group said in a tweet. "The student would love to report it, but it'll likely get dismissed. Imagine the response if a student had snatched a senator's phone: instant arrest."
Contributing: The Associated Press