Mark Butler was taking photos from the left field gate of the Washington National’s new ballpark when he was asked by an officer of the secret service to delete any pictures of security checkpoints set up for President Bush’s first pitch ceremony.

The thing is, the Minnesota man didn’t even have a ticket to the game. He, among many other fans, were just trying to get a view of the park.
WASHINGTON, DC — Like a number of people without a ticket to the Nationals’ game Sunday, Mark Butler stood outside the left field gate and watched some of the historic event from a distance. The Minnesota man carried a digital camera to capture the memories. For a member of the Uniformed Division of United States Secret Service, Butler captured too much.

9NEWS NOW photographer Greg Guise was rolling when an officer approached Mark Butler. Butler said the officer demanded he delete any pictures that showed the security checkpoints set up to screen fans for the visit by President George Bush.

“It’s kind of like not being in America,” Butler said. Butler said he was not interested in the security but in the part of the stadium you could see beyond the gate.

Secret Service spokesman Malcolm Wiley told 9NEWS NOW that there is no “hard and fast rule” in this situation. Wiley said it is a situation left to the discretion of the officer.

Wow, talk about our national pastime.

You can see the original news story here. 

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