Then I attended my first political rally. And what happened there shook my faith.

Last Thursday, I traveled to Trump’s rally at Charlotte’s convention center. I had a great time waiting in line for the doors to open. Trump’s other supporters were extremely welcoming. I even purchased a second shirt from a street vendor. When they finally let us in, I was thrilled — I’d arrived early enough to get a spot near the front of the stage. I chatted with a couple of people and everyone was really kind. Then I got bored so I started listening to music.

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That’s when things took a turn for the worse.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around to see a man in a suit. He told me follow him. I was confused but did what I was told. He did not identify himself in any way. (The Trump campaign later identified the man as Eddie Deck, Trump’s head of security.) He took me to the back of the crowd and told me he knew who I was — a known protester. He didn’t give me a name of who he thought I was, or a picture or a description. He simply said that I had to leave.

I tried to explain that I had never been to a Trump rally and that I was a huge Trump supporter, but he didn’t care. He didn’t ask me for my license or to look at my shirts. He simply said that three people had pointed me out and that I needed to go. Immediately.

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I was extremely angry. I told him that this is my first rally and that I am a huge Trump supporter, I would never protest him. But nothing helped. Three police officers showed up and told me that they were going to escort me out. I didn’t know what else to do, so I agreed to leave.

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Then I felt another tap on my shoulder from the same man. This time, he told me that he’d let me back if I agreed not to disturb anyone. I felt very uneasy because some random man claimed to know me and made up lies about me. He even had the nerve to tell me that I was being the agitator. “I’m being the agitator?” I yelled. “You’re the one that came to me and told me that I had to leave.” At that point, he told the police officers to get me out. I was escorted out of the building.

I still don’t know why I was asked to leave. But I think it has something to do with my race. My mother is white and my father is Indian. When Deck saw me, I wonder whether he noticed that I look different from most Trump supporters. I wonder whether he assumed that I couldn’t possibly support Trump because of how I look. [Editor’s note: Kirk Bell, communications director for Trump’s North Carolina campaign, told the Charlotte Observer that the campaign is looking into the incident. In a statement on Friday afternoon, he told the paper: “My statement is as follows: We were informed last night that security identified those individuals asked to leave as individuals who have been removed from previous events."]

I understand that Trump’s security officials have to look out for his safety and for the safety of the crowd. If Deck had come to me with a list of known protesters and asked for my identification, I would have been okay with that. If he had shown me a picture of the mystery person who allegedly resembles me, that would have been fine. But that’s not what happened. I was wearing two shirts — my old Trump T-shirt and my new one. If Deck had asked me to show him both of them, I would have been glad to. He did none of these things. He simply said that I am known protester and that I must leave.

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