Mysterious dude in Iowa is following Ted Cruz around and accusing him of liking Nickelback

Nickelback tweeted this photo of the protester. Nickelback tweeted this photo of the protester. Image 1 of / 14 Caption Close Mysterious dude in Iowa is following Ted Cruz around and accusing him of liking Nickelback 1 / 14 Back to Gallery

Liking the rock band Nickelback is a pretty heinous accusation by most standards, but it takes on a new flavor when hurled at a presidential candidate.

Especially if that candidate is Ted Cruz.

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A young male protester has continuously showed up to Cruz events during January in Iowa holding a sign declaring, "Ted Cruz Likes Nickelback."

Spotted outside @tedcruz's stop this hour in Webster City, Iowa -- the Nickelback protester: pic.twitter.com/5sW5cUh6E2 — Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) January 7, 2016

Sometimes, the protester shows up with just the sign in hand.

But, on Saturday, he donned a Royal Canadian Mounted Police uniform, planted small Canadian flags and a photo of Cruz's face over a maple leaf in the ground outside of a rally hosted by the freshman senator's super PAC, The Washington Post reported.

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The protester, who has refused to identify himself to the press or name his affiliations, also handed out copies of Cruz's birth certificate, according to the newspaper.

"I just don't want, really, a Canadian in office," the protester told The Washington Post. "It seems like he's got a lot of controversy behind him whether he's a U.S.-born citizen or not and I'm just out here making a statement."

This guy is back at Ted Cruz events in Iowa, now dressed as a Mountie pic.twitter.com/Fyb3qzAc5z — Katie Zezima (@katiezez) January 23, 2016

Cruz has endured questioning by Republican primary rival Donald Trump regarding whether Cruz's birthplace of Calgary disqualifies him from residing in the Oval Office.

Cruz's mother, however, was a U.S. citizen at the time, making Cruz a citizen as well under U.S. law.

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Tying Cruz to the Canadian band Nickelback — whose members grew up in Alberta, the same Canadian province where the Texas senator was born — has the double, but obscure, whammy of reminding primary voters of the questions raised by Trump while also implying that Cruz has terrible musical taste.

However, the band took the protester's jabs in stride in a Jan. 11 tweet, "NICKELBACK Employee of the Month. January 2016. #Election2016 #Nickelback4President"

But, when asked about his favorite Nickelback song, the protester told the Post, "I don't like Nickelback."

jfechter@mySA.com

Twitter: @JFreports