Hillary's reception? A big walkout

Hillary Clinton made history Tuesday when she became the first woman nominated by a major party to become U.S. president.

But many Bernie Sanders delegates at the Democratic National Convention, including A.J. Konda of Coeur d’Alene, did not accept Clinton’s nomination with quiet resignation.

Following a roll call vote of the state delegations, Clinton officially received the nomination after Sanders called for a unanimous decision to give it to her.

“A lot of Bernie delegates began marching in the aisles,” Konda told The Press in a phone call from Philadelphia. Konda is the only delegate attending the convention from Kootenai County.

While chanting “Walkout! Walkout!” he and dozens of other Sanders delegates, primarily from states like Idaho where Sanders won against Clinton, exited the convention hall.

Standing outside the venue while he spoke, Konda said security around the dissenters was tight, but respectful. Police were giving them their space, he said, but he noted there were snipers on nearby roofs.

Konda said it appeared those engaging most with the Sanders delegates outside the venue were representatives of the Democratic National Party. He heard from other delegates that DNC representatives were trying to strip the Sanders delegates of their credentials.

He said “out of respect for the mothers” it was likely he and others outside the hall would go back inside to listen to the scheduled “Mothers of the Movement” speakers who include Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin, and Lezley McSpadden, mother of Michael Brown.

But the group outside, he said, was there trying to be heard, to send a message through the media.

“We had 46 percent of the delegation. We only needed 5 percent more. Just that small margin was either due to corruption or voter irregularities,” Konda said. “Whether it was overt or not, there was suppression and we were just screwed.”