When 32-year-old Josh Hendrickson left his house for a protest outside President Obama's health care rally in Minneapolis Saturday, he considered whether to go armed.
When he typically goes out, he told the Star-Tribune, "I grab my wallet, my keys and my gun."
Make that two guns.
Hendrickson showed up to the event with a Glock in a holster, and a Kel Tec 380 -- known for its light weight and "manageable recoil" -- in his back pocket. The local police and the Secret Service question Hendrickson after seeing the outline of a gun in his camo shirt, he said.
But, Hendrickson told the Star-Tribune he was not inspired by the gun-toters who showed up to Obama events in August. He just wanted to make the same point they wanted to make: "The Second Amendment isn't suspended just because the president's in town."
Hendrickson then revealed to the Strib reporter that he recently got out of jail:
"I'm a pretty laid-back guy that loves his kids and his country," Hendrickson said.He added, however, that he had just been released from jail a month earlier on an assault charge for pepper-spraying a customer at a Cub Foods in Brooklyn Center, where he worked as a security guard.

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Campesino
September 15, 2009 4:10 PM
It's funny, but I can't find anything anywhere on this site about the ACORN controversy. What's up with that?
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jxhq8CPN8LdLntDEDtE5NrEBQ2IgD9ANCH580
WASHINGTON — The Senate voted Monday to block the Housing and Urban Development Department from giving grants to ACORN, a community organization under fire in several voter-registration fraud cases.
The 83-7 vote would deny housing and community grant funding to ACORN, which stands for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.
The action came as the group is suffering from bad publicity after a duo of conservative activists posing as a prostitute and her pimp released hidden-camera videos in which ACORN employees in Baltimore gave advice on house-buying and how to account on tax forms for the woman's income. Two other videos, aired frequently on media outlets such as the Fox News Channel, depict similar situations in ACORN offices in Brooklyn and Washington, D.C.
The Senate's move would mean that ACORN would not be able to win HUD grants for programs such as counseling low-income people on how to get mortgages and for fair housing education and outreach.
Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., said that ACORN has received $53 million in taxpayer funds since 1994 and that the group was eligible for a wider set of funding in the pending legislation, which funds housing and transportation programs.
Just last week, the Census Bureau severed its ties with ACORN, saying it does not want the group's help in outreach efforts on the decennial count
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notthatstupid
September 15, 2009 4:31 PM in reply to Campesino
Get a life. You have enough hatred, ignorance, bigotry, and incivility on your side to give you enough "business" to deal with for a life time. Besides, you can always go and help your buddies at C-Street that have more power and influence than ACORN ever could or will.
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Seeryer
September 15, 2009 4:39 PM in reply to Campesino
In other words, under the Obama administration, the Federal Government is severing all ties with ACORN? The Census, which is "being ran straight out of the White House" will not use ACORN's help gathering data. Instead of you realizing how stupid your side's argument about ACORN taking over America under Obama is the Dems who run the WH, Senate and House proved it to you. ACORN has never had less power in America then they have today. $53 million in taxpayer funds since 1994 or $3.5 million a year. WHAT A POWERFUL ORGANIZATION THEY MUST HAVE BEEN WITH THAT HUGE BUDGET. ACORN is about giving the poor a voice. Congratulations for turning them into Obama's SS. You are a complete gullible DOUCHE.
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Stiggs
September 15, 2009 5:03 PM in reply to Seeryer
This type of presumption is neither fair nor productive. It is certainly possible that he is a gullible douche but it may also be that he is manipulative and propagandizing douche. Just because somebody writes something which is quite obviously incorrect does not necessarily mean that they believe it. Unfortunately, as much as I think it is important to open a dialogue, I have never had good results with the approach of asking "are you being ignorant or deceptive". Alas.
Points on identifying the behavior as douchey though.
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Clavis
September 15, 2009 4:52 PM in reply to Campesino
Did ACORN get as much money from the federal government as Blackwater, Custer Battles, or KBR? It didn't? Then why don't you enjoy a nice heaping bowl of STFU, garnished with creamy Where Were You Whiny Screamers During Eight Years of Bush?!?
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randomname
September 16, 2009 9:44 AM in reply to Clavis
Thank you. I've been trying for a couple of days to come up with just the correct response to the ACORN saga for my fringe acquaintences. You worded it perfectly.
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GTFOOH
September 16, 2009 10:19 AM in reply to Clavis
Second!
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converse
September 15, 2009 6:03 PM in reply to Campesino
Why don't you go lobby congress to cut off federal funds to any defense contractor who throws an "executive party" with "escorts", or disallow the use of federal mortgage loans to any suburban realtor who "steers" African-American families into certain neighborhoods, or pull the license of any CPA who helps millionaires cheat on their tax returns?
Or do you only want to fuck with the little guys? Ain't got the guts to take on the bosses? I thought so.
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jagriff1
September 15, 2009 6:03 PM in reply to Campesino
Um, what does this have to do with some recently-released conservative violent criminal bringing two firearms to an appearance by the president?
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AJM
September 15, 2009 11:46 PM in reply to Campesino
The government shouldn't be put in the position of funding prostitutes. Do I have your support for docking Sen. Vitter's salary?
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JohnW1141
September 16, 2009 8:52 AM in reply to Campesino
Campesi,
there's nothing on this site about the missing WMD, or the over 4,000 that died and the 10,000 that were maimed for life looking for them either.
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JNagarya
September 15, 2009 4:16 PM
Troll: You obviously have no compunctions about being dishonest. Which is immoral. Which is irresponsible. And I'll bet you'll claim, even while engaged in your dirty tactics, to be a "responsible gun owner".
Do you assholes EVER comply with your won professed values?
"a duo of conservative activists posing as a prostitute and her pimp released hidden-camera videos in which ACORN employees in Baltimore gave advice on house-buying and how to account on tax forms for the woman's income."
Discussing a hypothetical is not the same thing as giving advice.
And note that the dishonest in the situation were the "conservatives" who engaged in deceit in effort to smear an agency which is nothing more than an anti-poverty agency.
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ally
September 15, 2009 4:19 PM
So this whackjob is a "pretty laid back person" who just got out of jail for Assault. Unbelievable.
Laid back? Obviously not. Jailed Assaulter still in possession of guns - Unbelievably Scary for the rest of us.
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Lalo35adm
September 15, 2009 4:33 PM
The gun-carrier (who was a security guard) was in jail for using "pepper spray"???
The irony is so obviously lost on TPM...
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goethean
September 15, 2009 4:48 PM in reply to Lalo35adm
...because rent-a-cops should be able to attack people without consequences. Brilliant.
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acanuck
September 15, 2009 4:52 PM in reply to Lalo35adm
Help us out, Lalo. So the irony is that he didn't actually shoot someone? I gather you've never been tased or pepper-sprayed.
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Snig
September 15, 2009 5:34 PM in reply to Lalo35adm
Actually I'm not a big opponent of responsible gun ownership. I've worked as a security guard, never came close to assaulting anyone. I would view someone who peppersprayed a woman for illegal parking as someone who shouldn't be allowed guns, let alone two guns near the president. He's pretty obviously not that balanced, so not likely a responsible gun owner. Since you can't tell the responsible from the irresponsible ones, it seems like a good idea to keep the guns away from the president. Even when it was Bush I or II or Reagan, I understood not wanting to have guns in the vicinity. Bush the lesser was afraid of t-shirts and signs, which I did think was going overboard.
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JohnW1141
September 16, 2009 8:55 AM in reply to Lalo35adm
Lalo,
what were the circumstances of his using pepper spray, and why did he go to jail for it?
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JohnW1141
September 16, 2009 12:46 PM in reply to JohnW1141
Lalo? Are you there?
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jeffgee
September 15, 2009 4:51 PM
One of Crazy Shelly's constituents?
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Dave Bowman
September 15, 2009 5:05 PM
Cub Foods was smart not giving this moron a gun:
Yessir, a real patriot, if by 'patriot' you mean 'right wing douchebag.'
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Cool Blue Reason
September 15, 2009 5:25 PM in reply to Dave Bowman
That is what they generally mean by "patriot."
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henk
September 16, 2009 9:30 AM in reply to Cool Blue Reason
Now there is a project for some unemployed English Major: Produce a wing nut dictionary. Since Bush, probably before, so many words in the English language have new meanings, Patriot, Facts, Truth, some enterprising person should document that. Maybe call it Wingster's Not So English Dictionary or something to that effect.
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Dave Bowman
September 16, 2009 11:36 AM in reply to henk
They already have their own dictionary, henk. If you want a good laugh, go check out http://conservapedia.com.
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Dave Bowman
September 16, 2009 11:38 AM in reply to Dave Bowman
err, encyclopedia--need my coffee to focus.
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Snarky
September 15, 2009 5:28 PM
How come he's got guns if he just got out of jail? Isn't there a law against that? I wish the Secret Service would get a lot tougher with these idiots. You start allowing this nonsense, everyone gets complacent, and then one of them kills our president. never again. PLEASE
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pv2k
September 15, 2009 6:00 PM in reply to Snarky
Felons are the ones who can't have guns. Morons who do time for gross misdemeanors, on the other hand, are free to have them.
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jagriff1
September 15, 2009 6:06 PM in reply to pv2k
Still, his misdemeanor was a violent crime. Someone should check to see if he violated the terms of his sentencing.
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The Commenter Formerly Known as NCSteve
September 15, 2009 6:04 PM in reply to Snarky
Most states only take guns away from felons.
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jonnienohands
September 15, 2009 6:08 PM
I've met loads of laid back people in my life, none of them owned guns.
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wstander
September 15, 2009 6:33 PM
I am a Canadian, so please explain. Does the claimed Constitutional right to bear arms apply to criminals such as this man, or to just some crminals, or to no criminals?
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Powkat
September 15, 2009 7:02 PM
What's with the sudden appearance of all these trolls? I don't go and write snotty stuff on your sites - I just read, shake my head in disbelief and leave. Please have the courtesy to do the same here.
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BalRog
September 15, 2009 8:37 PM
Now that I'm working the west suburbs of Minneapolis, a part of the metro area with which I have never been very familiar, I want to thank you most sincerely for alerting me to the fact that a tertiary nutjob works for the Brooklyn Center Cub Foods, and quite probably carries a gun on the job.
Note to self: Avoid BC Cub Foods.
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rynato
September 15, 2009 11:02 PM in reply to BalRog
He doesn't work there any longer, BalRog.
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Mum
September 16, 2009 12:56 AM
It's absolutely amazing that one of the first comments on this article has nothing to do with the audacity of someone bringing guns to an Obama rally. Instead the commenter brings up Acorn as if that somehow balances out the gunnut packing for a Presidential rally. The commenter seems to be saying: "See, we may have our gunnuts, but you, you have some people who work for an organization that tried to find some tax loopholes for people who were involved in illegal enterprises. And they weren't even lobbyists or members of the business community!"
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Icarus
September 16, 2009 7:17 AM
Just why do assholes bring their guns to Obama rallies? Is it to try to intimidate Obama and his supporters? Do they mean to celebrate their own assholery? If a "laid back" person with a gun can get close to Obama on a whim, that doesn't bode well for protecting him from an asshole who thinks he's on a mission.
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furey
September 16, 2009 8:35 AM
http://michaelfury.wordpress.com/2008/10/09/the-protection-racket/
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GTFOOH
September 16, 2009 10:20 AM
Just got out of jail for assult and he is allowed to carry a gun? Man, their right to carry laws need amending!
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JohnW1141
September 16, 2009 12:50 PM
I don't usually use the word "moron" but it well describes this guy.
No rational person who just got out of jail would take two guns to a Presidential visit and bring the kind of attention he brought to himself. I'm sure the local police will be keeping an eye on him for some time.
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