Allan Lichtman, an AU history professor and Maryland Democratic candidate for the Senate, was arrested Aug. 31. after protesting and refusing to leave Maryland Public Television's Owings Mills studio, according to the Baltimore Sun.
"That's the response of MPT to a candidate exercising free speech rights - clamp him in irons!" Lichtman wrote in a letter to explain his arrest and express his reaction.
Others arrested included Lichtman's wife, Karyn Strickler, and Gail Dobson, a campaign volunteer, the Baltimore Sun reported.
"I am in jail because I put my body on the line to uphold the right of the people to choose their United States senator from Maryland, not have their senator chosen for them by media chieftains or organization heads," Lichtman wrote in the letter.
Lichtman, Strickler and Dobson await criminal trespass charges. If found guilty, each can be jailed up to six months or pay a fine of up to $1,000, according to the Baltimore Sun.
Fellow candidates Josh Rales and Dennis Rasmussen also protested outside of the TV studio, according to the Baltimore Sun.
In his letter, Lichtman explained that when he was arrested he was not in the lobby of the building, but in a foyer outside of locked doors to the lobby.
"MPT could have let me stand there and talk and held their debate," Lichtman wrote. "Instead, they decided to call in the police and have been [sic] forcibly removed and arrested on the extraordinary charge of 'trespassing on public property after hours.' Is it hardly 'after hours' when public television is airing a public event. [sic]"
Erin Lauer, a sophomore in the School of International Service who spent the summer working on the Lichtman campaign, said she was excited to see someone so concerned with democracy that he was willing to get arrested to defend it.
"After I spent all summer fighting and working 70 to 80 hours a week, [Lichtman's arrest] reminded me how passionate he is," Lauer said. "I wish we could get his message out to more voters."
Lichtman wrote that he would be valuable to the debate because his ideas are different than those of the two leading candidates, and he would be the "Senate's only lifetime teacher and civil rights expert in 70 cases."
He also said he would vote for funds to bring troops home from Iraq and proposed legislation to reduce fossil fuel consumption 50 percent over 20 years.
"I continued my peaceful protest, together with my wife Karyn Strickler - a political leader in Maryland - because we could not look my 14 son [sic] in the eye unless we were willing to put our safety and comfort on the line for the principle," Lichtman wrote.
Lichtman and 17 other Democratic candidates were not invited to participate in the televised debate because of guidelines set by the League of Women Voters of Maryland, which co-sponsored the event. Only candidates who had received a support rating of at least 15 percent could participate, League officials said.
"I think Allan was justified to protest the debate," said Ethan Meick, a campaign volunteer and a sophomore in SIS. "It was ridiculous that the League of Women Voters only allowed the two 'front-runners' in. In a democracy all candidates should be allowed to voice their opinions fairly."
The League of Women Voters of Maryland and MPT negotiated the criterion for televised debate participation - evidence of a "significant candidacy," including a minimum 15 percent voter support as of a July 1 statewide poll, according to an MPT press release from last Friday.
"MPT and the League remained true to those guidelines throughout its process in organizing the August 31 U.S. Senate debate," according to the press release.
"They can try to silence my voice, but I continue speaking out for the people of Maryland and America," Lichtman wrote. "The issues raised in my protest go far beyond a Senate race in Maryland, but cut to the heart of what it means to live in a free and democratic society"
