A lot of attention was focused on Andrew Meyer, now better known as the ‘Don’t Tase Me, Bro’ student, after he was tasered at a John Kerry talk. A discussion ensued on this very site about Andrew Meyer’s credibility, many referring to him as a prankster and claiming that the entire incident was premeditated. Well, Andrew appeared on the Today Show to dispel some myths. And apologize.
TODAYshow.com: Was your arrest planned? Did you ask anyone to tape you at the John Kerry event?
Meyer: My arrest was absolutely not planned. You would have to be a fool to intentionally get arrested and incur the cost of cleaning up this mess legally (ask my lawyer, it wasn’t cheap).
TODAYshow.com: A lot has been made of your Web site, particularly a video of your friend (which has been incorrectly reported as you) standing on the side of the road holding a sign, “Harry Dies,” after the release of the last Harry Potter book. Is your site in any way connected to what you were trying to accomplish at the Kerry event?
Meyer: It’s funny you should mention “Harry Dies,” because that more than anything else epitomizes how my character has been misconstrued by the media. “Harry Dies” is a video two friends of mine shot on the day the seventh Harry Potter book was released. They are standing on a busy street corner holding a sign that says, “Harry Dies.” I am not in this video. I did not shoot this video. All I did was post it on my Web site. And yet this, according to the media, is the smoking gun that proves I am a “well-known prankster” and my questions to Senator Kerry were not serious. There are no other cited instances of me pulling a practical joke.
My Web site was and is intended to be a forum for me to express myself, but I was not looking to promote it in any way by attending the Kerry forum. I did plan to post the video of me asking Kerry questions on my website, the same way I posted the videos of Validus and Quigley & the St.Pete Players, a couple of local bands I had filmed. I did not, however, have a pocket full of business cards ready to pass out after the event. If I were promoting my Web site, passing out my card is exactly what I would have done. A police officer did find one of my business cards, which read “TheAndrewMeyer.com.” I was using it as a bookmark for “Armed Madhouse.”
TODAYshow.com: What is your biggest criticism of the media in covering your story?
Meyer: I haven’t seen any mainstream news outlet once dissect the questions I asked the Senator. Everything is about me personally or the taser. This is the type of tabloid journalism prevalent in America today. When my story is over, they won’t start covering Blackwater or Ron Paul. It’ll be Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, business as usual.
…I wish I had maintained my composure. The next time I will.
Animam Recro 