Retired Army Lieutenant Dan Choi has
been barred from attending a hearing for accused WikiLeaks source
Pvt. Bradley Manning, POLITICO.com
reported.
Choi is the gay rights activist
honorably discharged from the Army for announcing two years ago on
MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show that he's gay, a violation of
the military's now-ended “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy which
barred gay and bisexual troops from serving openly. He went on to
become a prominent opponent of the law.
Stress related to the military policy
“contributed to mental and emotional problems that should have
barred [Manning] from having access to sensitive material,”
Manning's lawyers have argued in court.
Choi, wearing his full dress uniform,
supported Manning during two days of his preliminary hearing and
spoke at a Saturday rally celebrating Manning's 24th
birthday.
But on Monday, Choi was detained at the
gate for about ten minutes – he was told he could not be dressed in
uniform – making him late to the courthouse where the hearing had
already begun.
Choi said he was arrested in the
courtyard near the courthouse when he called out the name of a
sergeant.
“They said I was heckling. I
definitely was not heckling,” Choi said. “They used six Mps to
pin me down to the ground. They handcuffed me. I still can't feel
my right hand. They were so rough they ripped my rank off, the
epaulets.”
He was not charged and he was later
released. But was told he was barred from attending the remainder of
the hearing.