Republican Senator David Perdue’s office is claiming that the Georgia representative was trying to take a selfie with a Georgia Tech student — not trying to snatch his phone — in retaliation for being questioned on his choice to endorse gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp. The filmed altercation took place during a visit to campus Saturday, and has since gone viral. The video shows the senator taking the student’s phone after being questioned on his endorsement for Kemp, Georgia’s secretary of state who has made headlines for implementing a law that possibly violates civil rights. “You stole my property, you stole my property,” the student, who wishes to remain anonymous out of fear for his safety, repeats after Sen. Perdue takes his phone. The senator then asks the student, “Alright, you wanted a picture?” before handing the phone back and heading the opposite direction. “That’s U.S. Senator David Perdue, U.S. Senator David Perdue just snatched by phone because he won’t answer a question from one of his constituents,” the student said. “He’s trying to leave. He’s trying to leave because he won’t answer why he’s endorsing a candidate who’s trying to purge people from voting on the basis of their race.” The law in question calls for election officials to halt voter registration applications if the voter’s information doesn’t match existing records. Of the 50,0000 people affected, 80 percent are black, Latino or Asian American, according a lawsuit filed against Kemp this month. The Associated Press recently reported that there are 53,000 people affected and 70 percent are black. However, Kemp has recently said these people, listed as “pending” voters, can in fact vote Nov. 6. Perdue’s office says the senator thought the student wanted a selfie, “something his constituents often ask of him.” “He went to take a selfie, then realized he didn’t want the picture so he gave the phone back,” an office aide said. The spokesperson also did not apologize for what occurred on Saturday. The student is part of the college’s Young Democratic Socialists of America chapter, which released a statement on the matter following the video’s mass attention. Today @sendavidperdue visited Tech to campaign for Kemp. A student tried asking a simple question about @BrianKempGA 's racist scheme to threaten voter registrations from black people, but before he could even finish the question, Perdue stole his phone. pic.twitter.com/K0iffU57Di — YDSA Georgia Tech (@YDSAGT) October 13, 2018 Other Georgia officials, such as congressional candidate Josh McCall have weighed in on the incident, mocking Perdue’s opposition on safe spaces. The college group said the student might file a report with campus police on the matter. Perdue is not up for reelection until 2020, but will be campaigning for Kemp until the November gubernatorial election, which is reportedly very tight. Kemp’s opponent is Democrat Stacy Abrams, who, if elected, would be the first black female governor in Georgia. She has already made history for being the first black woman to lead her party in the state’s General Assembly.<doc-sep>Georgia Sen. David Perdue has stirred up a host of new questions after he appeared to dodge a college student's inquiry by ripping the student's cellphone out of his hand in the midst of a video recording. The GOP senator was at Georgia Tech on Saturday to campaign for Georgia gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp when he was approached by a member of the school's Young Democratic Socialists of America chapter and asked about tens of thousands of voter registrations that Kemp, as the current secretary of state, is refusing to process. The student in the video can be heard starting to ask Perdue a question, but he's cut off before finishing. "How can you endorse a candidate ..." he says, before Perdue takes the phone from his hand ending his question. "You stole my property, you stole my property," he says. Perdue responds, "You wanted a picture?" "Give me my phone back, senator," the student says. Perdue immediately gave the phone back and kept walking. Perdue spokeswoman Casey Black said, "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." Nonetheless, the Young Democratic Socialists of America at Georgia Tech lashed out at the senator. "Senator Perdue will quickly endorse racists for the governorship, but ask him why and he'll steal your phone," the group wrote on Facebook. "He's a coward who's afraid to answer questions from students, citizens, and constituents." Kemp and Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams have been locked in a bitter battle for the state's governorship. Abrams accused Kemp last week of refusing to certify 53,000 voter registration applications to "suppress the vote for political gain and silence the voices of thousands of eligible voters -- the majority of them people of color." The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law filed a lawsuit over the uncertified applications on Thursday. "Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp has been a driving force behind multiple voter suppression efforts throughout the years in Georgia," Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said in a statement last week. "If there is one person in Georgia who knows that the ‘Exact Match’ scheme has a discriminatory impact on minority voters, it’s Brian Kemp because we successfully sued him over a mirror policy in 2016." Kemp has said those voters can still cast their ballots at the polls on Election Day with a valid ID and accused Abrams' desire to avoid that as her encouraging undocumented immigrants to vote. Kemp released a statement about the lawsuit on Sunday afternoon. "Stacey Abrams lied about voter suppression in Georgia to motivate her base of supporters," Ryan Mahoney, Kemp's communications director, said in the statement. "Now, she is demanding voting rights for illegal immigrants in the November 6th election."<doc-sep>Senator David Perdue snatched a Georgia Tech student's phone from their hands on Saturday, and people are pretty outraged. When visiting the Atlanta campus to attend a campaign event for Republican gubernatorial nominee Brian Kemp, Perdue was questioned by a GT member of Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) about voter suppression in Georgia. Kemp has recently become the subject of scrutiny, after an Associated Press report indicated that 53,000 voter registrations are sitting in limbo within Kemp's office — most of these belong to black voters and other minorities. Democratic opponent Stacey Adams accused Kemp of using voter suppression as an intimidation and fear-mongering tactic that "is as much about terrifying people about trying to vote as it is about actually blocking their ability to do so." So, Perdue, when questioned about Kemp's actions on Saturday, decided the best (and most mature) course of action wasn't to have a conversation, but to grab the questioner's phone from their hands. YDSA posted a video of the moment to Twitter, which was captured on the phone. Just before snatching the phone, Perdue says "No, I’m not doing that," in response to the student's questions. Then, with the student's phone in his hand, Perdue says, "You wanted a picture. I’m going to give it to you." “Give me my phone back, Senator,” the student asks multiple times. Today @sendavidperdue visited Tech to campaign for Kemp. A student tried asking a simple question about @BrianKempGA 's racist scheme to threaten voter registrations from black people, but before he could even finish the question, Perdue stole his phone. pic.twitter.com/K0iffU57Di — YDSA Georgia Tech (@YDSAGT) October 13, 2018 YSDA described the incident as "shocking, appalling, and totally unbecoming of the supposedly hallowed office of US Senator." The group told Mashable the student was considering filing a campus police report. "Perdue walked into Georgia Tech’s backyard, and students aren’t allowed to ask him a simple question? It would be one thing to say 'no comment' or inform us he’s not taking questions. Perdue would have been within his legal rights to simply walk away or decline the question. But instead, he forcibly, suddenly, and violently took their phone without justification or provocation," YDSA said in a statement. Perdue's action royally pissed off people on Twitter, some who pointed out the potential repercussions if the situation had been reversed. "Had the situation today been the other way around, and if the Georgia Tech student had snatched a sitting US Senator’s phone, the student would likely have been arrested on the spot," YDSA said in their statement. There were calls for the student to press charges against the Senator for theft, even though Perdue eventually returned the phone. #Georgia #GOP #VoterSuppression #BlueTsunami2018 If the roles were reversed and the student grabbed Perdue's phone, the student would have been arrested on the spot. Sen. Perdue snatched student’s phone after asked about voter registration scandal https://t.co/OCNdHMjMwk — Thomas Reich (@gollum1419_g) October 14, 2018 If someone had snatched the senators phone they would have found themselves on the ground with a knee on their back, followed by a quick trip to jail. Why is @sendavidperdue allowed to get away with this @FBI? — Kymmi B (@BaumanKym) October 14, 2018 Isn't that theft and possible assault? — Angelina Thompson (@eangelina64) October 14, 2018 Pretty sure .. um .. that's illegal. — Vote Dem November 6th (@michael_j_bravo) October 14, 2018 That's robbery. It doesn't stop being robbery because you give the proceeds of the crime back. File a criminal complaint. You've even got video evidence. — J Rollins (@jlrjd5000) October 14, 2018 Did he press charges ? Student should absolutely do that. — Traci Garceau (@TraciLGarceau) October 14, 2018 Others were simply disappointed in the Senator's actions. A sitting US Senator did this? Not a state senator or county party chair, a sitting US Senator! — Clinton Pope (@clintonpope) October 14, 2018 This is unacceptable — Shannon (@astrivingparent) October 14, 2018 disgusting and sad. This man is not entitled to act like this. He works for the people, not the other way around. — Indigo- Artist (@IndigoTheArtist) October 14, 2018 Perdue is yet to issue a public response.<doc-sep>(CNN) — Georgia Republican Sen. David Perdue grabbed a Georgia Tech student’s phone on Saturday as the student filmed him while trying to ask a question about the state’s voter identification policies. Perdue was on Georgia Tech’s campus campaigning for Brian Kemp, Georgia’s secretary of state and Republican nominee for governor. Kemp is running in a hotly contested race with Democratic nominee and former statehouse minority leader Stacey Abrams. Kemp, who is in charge of elections and voter registration in Georgia, faced backlash after the Associated Press reported Tuesday that his office put more than 53,000 voter applications on hold, nearly 70% of which are African American, because they failed to clear the state’s “exact match” standard. Under the policy, even the most minor discrepancy between a voter’s registration and their driver’s license, social security or state ID cards – such as a typo or missing letter – can be flagged. Kemp has since said those affected will be able to vote on Election Day. In the video, posted to Twitter on Saturday by the college’s chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America, a student is heard attempting to ask the senator a question: “How can you endorse a candidate —” Perdue cuts him off, saying, “No, I’m not doing that,” and grabs the student’s phone. The video cuts briefly for a few seconds when Perdue accidentally stopped and restarted the recording, during which time Perdue hid the phone behind his back while the student demanded their phone be returned, according to a statement from the student democratic socialists group. “You stole my property,” the student tells Perdue. “You stole my property.” “All right, you wanted a picture?” the senator says. “Give me my phone back,” the student replies. “You wanted a picture? I’m going to give it to you,” the senator says again. “Give me my phone back, senator,” the student insists. The Georgia Tech student, a member of the students’ democratic socialists group, told CNN he was trying to ask, “How can you endorse a candidate who’s trying to reject people’s voter registrations on the basis of their race?” The student requested to remain anonymous due to security concerns and fear of retaliation. A spokesperson for Perdue told CNN in a statement, “the Senator clearly thought he was being asked to take a picture, and he went to take a selfie.” “Senator Perdue spent several hours meeting with hundreds of people at the Georgia Tech game this weekend,” the spokesperson’s statement said. “The Senator spoke with many students and answered questions on a variety of topics,” it said. “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.” The student told CNN he and his friends asked Perdue if they could take a picture with him when they first approached the senator in an attempt to ask their question and get his answer on camera. “I was trying to ask him about that because I think it’s something that most Georgians care about,” the student told CNN. When asked for a comment, a spokesperson for Georgia Tech said only that “no complaint has been filed with the Georgia Tech Police Department.” The Young Democratic Socialists of America at Georgia Tech condemned the senator’s behavior in a statement shared with CNN. “Perdue walked into Georgia Tech’s backyard, and students aren’t allowed to ask him a simple question?” the statement reads, adding the senator could have said “no comment” or walked away. “But instead, he forcibly, suddenly, and violently took their phone without justification or provocation,” the statement said. “While the GOP is running ads accusing the political left of being an unhinged violent mob, today we saw the GOP’s utter contempt for the public, and their willingness to commit criminal acts of violence for political gain without provocation,” the statement reads. The statement added, “if the Georgia Tech student had snatched a sitting US Senator’s phone, the student would likely have been arrested on the spot.” “This behavior is shocking, appalling, and totally unbecoming of the supposedly hallowed office of US Senator,” the statement reads. Following the AP report, Abrams called for Kemp to step down as secretary of state. When asked about the issue Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Abrams said, “The miasma of fear that is created through voter suppression is as much about terrifying people about trying to vote as it is about actually blocking their ability to do so.” Kemp, in a tweet on Wednesday, said “The 53,000 Georgians on our ‘pending’ list can vote in the Nov. 6th election.” Kemp’s office used the system previously, but paused following a lawsuit, at which point the state legislature passed a law restoring the “exact match” system. Amid the current controversy, a coalition of civil rights groups filed a lawsuit challenging the system again. CNN’s Gregory Krieg, Eli Watkins, Eric Bradner and Greg Clary contributed to this report.<doc-sep>
Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) was seen on video snatching the cellphone out of the hands of a Georgia Tech student while he was being asked a question regarding the state’s possible suppression of minority voter registration. Perdue was visiting the college campus in Atlanta on Saturday to campaign for Georgia’s Secretary of State Brian Kemp (R), The Washington Post reported Sunday. ADVERTISEMENT Kemp is being sued by the Georgia NAACP over a report that more than 53,000 voter applications from mostly black voters are on hold just a month before the general elections. Kemp is in a statistical tie in the race for Georgia governor against Democrat Stacey Abrams, according to a poll released this week. An unnamed student member of the Young Democratic Socialists of America on Saturday confronted Perdue about Kemp while recording the senator on his cellphone, according to the Post. The student was in the middle of asking Perdue a question apparently regarding his support for the gubernatorial candidate when Perdue interrupted him. “Hey, so, uh, how can you endorse a candidate — " the student can be heard saying, before the video begins to shake and Perdue says, “I’m not doing that.” “You stole my property,” the student tells Perdue. “You stole my property.” “Alright, you wanted a picture?” the senator replies. “Give me my phone back, senator,” the student says. Perdue appears to ignore the student’s request and repeats, “You wanted a picture?” The student again asks for his phone back and the video corrects itself. Perdue is then seen walking away through a crowd. “That’s U.S. Sen. David Perdue. U.S. Sen. David Perdue just snatched my phone because he won’t answer a question from one of his constituents,” the student says as he appears to make an effort to follow the senator. “He’s trying to leave,” the student continues. “He’s trying to leave because he won’t answer why he’s endorsing a candidate who’s trying to purge people from voting on the basis of their race.” Today @sendavidperdue visited Tech to campaign for Kemp. A student tried asking a simple question about @BrianKempGA 's racist scheme to threaten voter registrations from black people, but before he could even finish the question, Perdue stole his phone. pic.twitter.com/K0iffU57Di — YDSA Georgia Tech (@YDSAGT) October 13, 2018 A spokeswoman for Perdue said in a statement to The Hill that the senator, who is an alumnus of Georgia Tech, spent several hours meeting with hundreds of people at the football game. "The Senator spoke with many students and answered questions on a variety of topics," the spokeswoman said. "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," the statement continued. The student involved requested to The Washington Post that he not be named out of fear of retaliation. The newspaper confirmed that he is a Georgia Tech student and is considering filing a report with campus police. The Young Democratic Socialists of America at Georgia Tech told the Post in a statement that they believe Perdue accidentally stopped and restarted the recording while he was hiding the phone from the student. “Perdue walked into Georgia Tech’s backyard, and students aren’t allowed to ask him a simple question?” the group stated. “It would be one thing to say ‘no comment’ or inform us he’s not taking questions. Perdue would have been within his legal rights to simply walk away or decline the question. But instead, he forcibly, suddenly, and violently took their phone without justification or provocation.” The group said in the statement that the Georgia Tech student would have likely been arrested “on the spot” had the roles been reversed. “This behavior is shocking, appalling, and totally unbecoming of the supposedly hallowed office of U.S. senator,” the group said. — Updated at 9:45 p.m.