Kamala Harris political event reportedly blocked New Hampshire reporter

A New Hampshire journalist said he was denied entry to an event Saturday featuring former Vice President Kamala Harris.

“The reception that I’ve gotten at past Democrat events from activists, from staff has mostly been positive… which is what makes this situation so disappointing,” New Hampshire Journal reporter Leonard Robinson told Digital in an interview Monday. 

Robinson wrote on X Saturday, “@NHDems often make access hard for NHJournal. I’ve been physically blocked by their operatives, they’ve hidden locations of their events from NHJournal. Nothing compares to Harris’s visit.”

Harris was on the campaign stump in the Granite State for Democratic New Hampshire Senate candidate Chris Pappas.

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Robinson said he RSVPed to an event hosted by Reproductive Freedom for All (RFA) by filling out a form sent to him by the Pappas campaign after being shut out of another Harris event hosted by the campaign itself due to spatial constraints, according to an email obtained by Digital.

When he arrived to check in, Robinson said a representative of RFA told him he wasn’t on the registration list and said the event was at full capacity. Robinson said another journalist who was not on the list was later allowed inside. He also said he saw a Pappas campaign staffer gesture “no” to the RFA representative from a distance.

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New Hampshire Journal reporter Leonard Robinson said he was denied entry to an event featuring former Vice President Kamala Harris on Oct. 24, despite having RSVPed. (Courtesy of Leonard Robinson)

Robinson told Digital he had attended other Pappas campaign events featuring prominent Democrats, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna of California and U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia.

“Why are [New Hampshire Democrats] afraid for her to talk to me? I think that’s the real question that’s gotta be answered here,” Robinson said. 

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Robinson, whose outlet New Hampshire Journal is the state’s only right-of-center publication, has had cordial in-person interactions with Pappas staff in the past but expressed frustration at the lack of cooperation from New Hampshire Democrats broadly in sharing its event calendar and being more welcoming to the outlet. 

New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Raymond Buckley criticized New Hampshire Journal, calling the outlet “a partisan right wing site created to smear Democrats” and saying it “has rarely, if ever, received credentials to any Democratic or progressive event” in response to Robinson’s X thread.

Robinson suggested that New Hampshire Democrats were “afraid” to give him access to former Vice President Kamala Harris and did not want him to ask her questions. (John Tully/Getty Images)

NH Journal managing editor Michael Graham stood by Robinson, telling Digital, “This is a rare occasion for them to literally force Leonard out of, or one of us out of the event. And given Vice President Kamala Harris and her potential hopes to make history, it was really unfortunate that they would keep [out] a reporter from an award-winning member of the New Hampshire Press Association.”

It is unclear whether a miscommunication error among the Democratic organizers was behind the incident. Neither representatives for Harris nor the New Hampshire Democratic Party responded to Digital’s requests for comment. A spokesperson for the Pappas campaign declined to comment.

Harris has taken part in several campaigns for Democratic candidates ahead of the midterm elections. Her appearances also come as she weighs a potential 2028 presidential bid.

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