Arrest near Obama event sparks protest

ALIQUIPPA, Pa., Sept. 1 (UPI) -- The arrest of a gun-carrying man near a Pennsylvania event for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was unfair, a gun rights group alleges.

Members of OpenCarry.org contend the arrest of John Noble, 50, of Industry was uncalled for, alleging state police suspended a state law allowing the right to bear arms ahead of the scheduled presence of the Illinois senator at a nearby site, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported Monday.

Noble was arrested Friday in Beaver County near where Obama was to appear after police found him carrying a loaded semiautomatic handgun.

"I am a threat to no one," the 6-foot-3, 280-pound gun owner told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "Mr. Obama doesn't trump my constitutional rights. The president of the United States doesn't trump my constitutional rights."

Noble, who was handcuffed and questioned for about two hours, was told by state police he would receive two citations by mail for disorderly conduct.

Noble said he was only intending to hand out fliers about gun rights.

"I had a Bible in one hand and an apple in the other. I was going to pass out my fliers, but I never got the chance," he said.

OpenCarry.org officials have called on Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell to intercede, the Tribune-Review said.