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Hernando Today

Russell confronts police chief at rally

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By TONY HOLT

Hernando Today

Published: November 7, 2009

Updated:

BROOKSVILLE - The small-government crusader running for Congress stood on the steps of the courthouse behind a podium and microphone.

When he found himself rattling off the list of political principles he shared with the crowd, Jason Sager stopped and said, "That was almost like a 'Yes We Can' moment," referring to the famous line said by President Obama during his election campaign last year.

He used a mocking tone and the crowd laughed at the joke. John Russell, a liberal Democrat who has run three times for the same seat, snorted.

He referred to Sager's speech as "right-wing gibberish," but it wasn't the shot at Obama that frustrated him the most, nor was it the exercise in free speech shown by Sager and the others in attendance.

It was the fact Sager was using a microphone. Russell held a rally of his own 18 months earlier when he ran for Congress. The police made him shut off the power, he said.

"We weren't allowed to do it," Russell remembered. "When the government supports one political party over another, it's fascism."

Russell likes to raise his voice. He did so a few times Saturday. He just didn't think he should have been made to do it in April 2008, when he organized the Voice of Veterans rally in the same spot.

It was Brooksville Police Chief George Turner who warned Russell back then that city code prohibited him from using public address systems for political gatherings outside the courthouse.

Russell saw Turner at Sager's rally Saturday and approached him. That was when he started to raise his voice.

Both Russell and his wife recorded the confrontation. The police chief told him Sager and his tea-party group didn't get a permit, but they "got special permission from the county." Russell was flabbergasted.

The county didn't grant him the allowance for the PA system. He couldn't understand why the rules were different for the conservative candidate.

He did have one theory. The county and Chief Turner are pro-Sager, he said.

When Russell saw Turner at the start of the rally, he approached him and started asking questions.

Turner was on the sidewalk within 20 feet of the crowd. The "Star-Spangled Banner" was being played.

Russell continued with his questions and Turner pressed his index finger to his lips and told him, "Shhh."

He wandered closer toward the crowd to get away from Russell, he said.

"You're annoying me," he told him.

"You're not answering my questions," Russell responded. "That's fascism my friend."

Less than an hour later, Turner was having lunch across the street at a deli.

He said he arrived at the rally after attending an auction earlier in the morning and was just checking to see whether it was peaceful and that there were no traffic hazards or parking issues. He denied being there to show support for Sager or his organization.

He didn't have much to say about his encounter with Russell except that the courthouse steps are county property and his issues should be addressed through the proper channels.

"He'll have to talk to the county about that," he said.

Sager is running against U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Brooksville, in next year's Republican primary.

Russell, who has lost three times to the congresswoman, has not announced his intentions to run in 2010.

Reporter Tony Holt can be reached at 352-544-5283 or wholt@hernandotoday.com.

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