Student tackled at Allen campaign event

By Bob Gibson

Published: October 31, 2006

U.S. Sen. George Allen, R-Fairfax County, spoke at a Charlottesville rally of his supporters Tuesday and then watched as it ended with a law student being wrestled to the floor by Allen supporters.

Allen was walking with Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., toward an Omni Charlottesville Hotel lobby after their upbeat campaign speeches when University of Virginia law student Mike Stark approached him and loudly asked if he had ever spat at his first wife.

Television cameras recorded the shoving and tackling that followed and quickly spread images from it around the world on CNN, other networks and Web sites as Stark, 38, was pushed to the lobby floor and escorted from the hotel by three men wearing Allen stickers.

Allen ignored the question and shrugged off the incident.
“That guy’s typical of the Webb campaign, and that’s just their negativity,” Allen said, referring to the campaign of Democratic challenger Jim Webb of Falls Church. Stark, a liberal blogger who confronted Allen two months ago at a Staunton hotel with questions about racial insensitivity, said he is not associated with any campaign.

One of the men who pushed Stark away from Allen, former Albemarle County GOP Chairman John Darden, said he was simply trying to protect Allen and Dole and stood between the law student and the senators not knowing what Stark’s intentions might be.

“It was crazy,” Darden said. “This guy kept coming toward George. I had my back to the guy, just blocking him out, and he pushed me.” Darden said he yelled at Stark, “You are getting personal,” and pushed back as Allen and aides walked away toward the back of the lobby.

Four hours later, Stark, a first-year law student and former Marine, went to Charlottesville police headquarters and tried to obtain an assault warrant. Police said they would assign an investigator to the case today, and no warrant was issued Tuesday.

Allen’s former wife, Anne Waddell, later issued a statement calling Stark’s question “a baseless, cheap shot.” She said that she and Allen divorced more than 22 years ago and sealed the divorce records because it was a personal matter.

Allen and Dole headlined the hour-long rally attended by about 150 supporters of the junior Virginia senator and former governor seeking a second six-year term. They said Allen should win Nov. 7 based on his record in office, including his strong support for continuing tax cuts, building job growth and protecting Virginians as governor by abolishing parole for convicted felons.

Both senators said they viewed passages from Webb’s six novels as “degrading of women.”

In remarks to reporters, Allen said, “Those excerpts are, I think, demeaning of women and he will have to explain those passages. … The judgment will be on the part of the people of Virginia.”

Allen did not say he had read any of Webb’s novels but “I’ve read those excerpts” depicting explicit sexual behavior and incest.

At the rally, two women who said Allen had affected their lives through his leadership offered testimonials.

Rhonda Winfield of Stuarts Draft, who lost her son 22 months ago in the war in Iraq, called Allen “a tremendous leader for this country” and explained how the senator had written her and shed tears with her over her son’s death.

Winfield said she gave Allen his dog tags, which the senator placed on his dresser mirror and told her “that he would never, ever support our withdrawing in defeat” from Iraq. Winfield’s son, Marine Lance Cpl. Jason Redifer, died at 19.

Teresa Sayers of Galax, who had been stabbed eight times by her former husband, credited Allen for abolishing parole so her assailant would spend 85 percent of his 36-year prison sentence behind bars instead of just 20 percent.

Allen also helped her by protecting her job through a crime-victim protection act during “a devastating time in my life,” Sayers said.

Dole, who chairs the re-election committee of Senate Republicans, said an Allen victory “could be important in the United States Senate in terms of our maintaining our majority.” Allowing Democrats to control the Senate would be giving control to a “Trojan horse” full of senators with a stealthy agenda of raising taxes.

Contact Bob Gibson at (434) 978-7243 or .