Michael McNeely is the first vice chair of the Georgia Republicans and a Trump supporter, but he wasn’t welcome backstage with other officials and donors at the candidate’s June 15 event, according to two sources.
Michael McNeely, the first vice chair of the Georgia Republicans, was escorted out of Atlanta’s Fox Theatre by Secret Service after being told there was “no more room for you” by Trump campaign state director Brandon Phillips, according to a party official briefed on the incident. The official requested anonymity said they were not authorized to speak on behalf of the party.
McNeely was stopped while trying to enter an area where Trump had been greeting supporters, the sources said. Neither Phillips, the Trump campaign, nor the Georgia Republican Party returned messages seeking comment.
McNeely is considered a rising star of the Georgia Republicans. Earlier this month he was named as an at-large
delegate to the Republican National Convention and is a past chair of the Georgia Black Republican Council.
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It’s not clear why McNeely wasn’t allowed to mingle in the area.
Bruce LeVell, the executive director of the National Diversity Coalition For Trump who did greet Trump that day, said he was only vaguely aware of the incident that resulted in McNeely’s ouster from the event.
“Anyone that goes to a Trump rally, I don’t give a damn who you are, if anyone even if looks at you and [the campaign] points their finger, you’re out of there,” he said. “They’re real strict about [acting] if something doesn’t look right. They just make a judgment call.”