Now this one takes the cake. A credentialed — and major, we might add — photographer is harassed by Secret Service while taking photos outside the White House. Mannie Garcia, best known for his Obama photo that turned into the ubiquitous “Hope” poster and the lawsuit that followed, was taking photos of a World Aids Day rally on Pennsylvania Avenue, when an officer approached him and demanded he delete the photo.

“He just charged me,” Garcia told PDN Pulse. “He came right at me and grabbed my camera. He had his hand on his weapon and said give me that photo and I said no.”

Garcia walked away without further incident, and it was all quickly sorted out. The officer was apparently young and green, and Garcia said there has been a tense “mood in the air” lately.

Even so, maybe the Secret Service should reevaluate whether this officer is right for this post in front of one of the most photographed sites in the world.

Source: PDN Pulse