Reporter Forbidden to Speak to Crowd at Michelle Obama Event

Meg Kissinger, a reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, covered first lady Michelle Obama’s Milwaukee campaign stop Monday for Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Mary Burke. But, Kissinger says, she was barred from speaking to members of the crowd.

Kissinger, a veteran of covering political events, said of the request that she’s  “never seen anything like it in 35 years as a reporter.”

At the event, Kissinger noticed that members of the media were “cordoned off” from the crowd at the event.

Kissinger reports that she was forbidden from speaking to the crowd by Burke and White House aides, writing in her report co-authored by Erin Richards that “Burke and White House staff also told reporters not to talk to people in the crowd before the event.”

Kissinger posted more details on Facebook:

In a separate post, she added that “in America, that’s our job.”

Both Burke and Obama’s offices have yet to make a statement about the accusations.

This is not the first time the Obama administration has angered members of the press by denying them access.