Tea Party Protests: 14-Year-Old Wisconsin Activist Reacts to Hecklers
Obscenities were screamed at Tricia Willoughby at a Tea Party rally on Sunday.
April 21, 2011— -- Fourteen-year-old Tricia Willoughby gave a speech at a podium on the steps of the Capital building in Madison, Wisconsin to a Tea Party rally on Sunday, and videos of her speech -- and opposition protesters yelling and cursing at her -- took the Internet by storm. ABC News spoke with Willoughby, who said she respects the right of others to protest and air their views, but thinks the tactics used on Sunday were beneath American dignity.
A video taken from the crowd of several hundred people during Willoughby's speech shows an anti-Tea Party protester yelling obscenities, making obscene gestures and screaming "Go home, you little brat!" at Willoughby. The protester's identity is not known.
Willoughby's speech, although arguably partisan, did not include any personal attacks. Instead, she called on Americans to come together to lower the federal deficit, which she believes can be done by cutting spending and lowering taxes.
"When that particular man was screaming obscenities at me, he wasn't criticizing my logic, he wasn't criticizing what I was saying, he was just saying I was a little brat and I should go home because I was simply a member of the opposing side up at the podium," Willoughby said. "My first reaction was actually to laugh. I was shocked that he was so immature that he was screaming crazy things at me and not listening to what I was saying."
Willoughby said she believes that everyone has the right to protest, but she does not think that what happened on Sunday was the way to do it. "They do have every right to come and protest our rally, I just think they could have done it in a more polite way," she said.
