The New Hampshire Senate race has now been engulfed in a case of fowl play.
A state Republican staffer who has been wearing a chicken suit and following Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen around — in order to challenge her to hold town hall meetings — was arrested for disorderly conduct this past Saturday, the local ABC affiliate reports, for disrupting both Shaheen and Gov. Maggie Hassan (D) during a local parade.
The police in Londonderry say the chicken man — whose real name is Michael Zona, age 23 — was told repeatedly to "cease and desist his activities," and that as a result of his actions Hassan backed away toward her security detail. He continued to flap his wings, however, and was arrested when officers saw him yelling at Shaheen and Hassan.
Zona, however, will not back down from this ruffling of feathers.
"I believe Sen. Jeanne Shaheen should be holding town halls and I have a First Amendment right to express that point of view," said Zona. "I wasn't bothering anyone. I wasn't disturbing anyone. In fact, I got a good deal of encouragement from people along the parade route."
Below is a photo of Zona — not quite crossing the road, but following Shaheen right down the middle of it. --Eric Kleefeld