18-year-old Republican Removed by Trump's Security Team

A Donald Trump security staffer calls 18-year-old Jake Anantha aside before having him removed from the Charlotte Convention Center

Jake Anantha, an 18-year-old college student and Donald Trump supporter was enthusiastic about attending a Trump rally at the Convention Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, last Thursday. He joined the waiting crowd at about 3:30 p.m., and then proceeded toward the stage around 4:30 when the attendees were finally allowed inside.

Suddenly, Anantha reports, a member of Trump's security team tapped his shoulder and led him to the side. The man said they knew who Anantha was, and they knew he had attended many other rallies.

Anantha protested, saying he was a local supporter who had never attended a rally before, but he was escorted out of the Center.

Since it was a private event, he could do nothing about it.

In an interview with The Charlotte Observer, Anantha said that he is a registered Republican, and his first vote ever was for Trump in the state's Republican primaries.

Anantha is a student at Central Piedmont Community College whose parents are conservative Republicans.

He and his father, Ramesh Anantha, believe he was pulled out solely because of his darker skin. Ramesh's parents immigrated to the United States from India.

Given Trump's less-than-stellar reputation among people of color, Ramesh noted "It's unbelievably ironic. [Jake] should have been looked at as a perfect Trump supporter. He should have been somebody they're putting up on stage."

The younger Anantha says that in the past, he has been quick to defend Trump, and didn't even mind his campaign rhetoric. Rather than a racist, he saw Trump as someone who was critical of the current immigration system and tough on Islamic terrorism.

His opinion changed, he says, as he stood outside the Convention Center and watched hundreds of white people stream in with no problem or concern.

Jeff Siner | The Charlotte Observer Rose Hamid, left, and Jake Anantha are escorted from the Charlotte Convention Center before Thursday's Trump rally.

He told The Charlotte Observer "I thought he was for all people. I don't believe he is for all people anymore. Why are all these white people allowed to attend and I'm not?"

Trump may not have thrown him out personally, but the GOP nominee is responsible for the staff that he hires and for the overall tone of the campaign.

Trump's people are reportedly "looking into the incident."

Jake Anantha now says he plans to cast his vote this November for Libertarian Gary Johnson.

Rose Hamid, a Charlotte, N.C., Muslim was ejected at the same time as Anantha. She has gone to several Trump rallies to peacefully protest his depiction of Muslims, handing out flower pens as part of her "Salam, I come in peace" campaign. Security claimed she was a "nuisance."