ATLANTA, March 3 -- Atlanta police Sunday detained and released Republican presidential candidate Alan Keyes after he attempted to enter a television studio just before a debate among three other presidential contenders, police said. No charges were filed against Keyes, who was protesting his exclusion from the debate, Officer Elizabeth Watson said. Lee Armstrong, director of programming and creative services for WSB- TV, said the station 'was absolutely not pressing charges.' Keyes was handcuffed and driven away in a police car after he attempted to push his way into the main entrance of the studio, which was hosting a debate with television commentator Patrick Buchanan, former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander and businessman Steve Forbes. 'Get your hands off me. This is a violation of my constitutional rights,' Keyes shouted as police hustled him away. 'I have a right to speak. As Martin Luther King went to jail in order to secure my right to participate, I go to jail in order to exercise that right. 'I have participated in debates up to this point and no media outlet has a right to make the decision that the people of Georgia and the people of the United States will not hear from their candidate. This is a travesty,' Keyes said as he was driven away. Armstrong said her station had chosen the debate's candidates based on the four top finishers of the South Carolina primary. 'We really felt that this would give us the most substantive debate and allow for better depth,' she said.
'We're sorry if Ambassador Keyes did not agree with our selection process.' Armstrong said the studio had never considered pressing charges against Keyes. 'We have no intention of filing a complaint,' she said. After his release from police custody, Keyes said: 'I thought this was America. I'm running for president of the United States. I was attempting to participate in a presidential debate, as I have all along, only to find the police force being used to bar me from being able to communicate with the voters of the state of Georgia.'
