Secret Service orders man to hit delete button on camera as President Bush visits ballpark...

Stadium Visitor Told To Hit Delete Button

Last updated: 4/1/2008 10:55:45 AM


WASHINGTON, DC (WUSA) -- Like a number of people without a ticket to the Nationals' game Sunday, Mark Butler stood outside the left field gate and watched some of the historic event from a distance. The Minnesota man carried a digital camera to capture the memories. For a member of the Uniformed Division of United States Secret Service, Butler captured too much.


9NEWS NOW photographer Greg Guise was rolling when an officer approached Mark Butler. Butler said the officer demanded he delete any pictures that showed the security checkpoints set up to screen fans for the visit by President George Bush.

"It's kind of like not being in America," Butler said. Butler said he was not interested in the security but in the part of the stadium you could see beyond the gate.

Secret Service spokesman Malcolm Wiley told 9NEWS NOW that there is no "hard and fast rule" in this situation. Wiley said it is a situation left to the discretion of the officer.

When specifically asked about the legality of ordering someone to delete pictures Wiley answered, "We have the authority to ask them to remove the picture from the camera."

Arthur Spitzer, Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of the National Capital Area, said "ask" could be the operative word in that statement by Wiley. Spitzer said he knows of no law in these circumstances that would allow law enforcement to force someone to delete pictures.