Lisa Dyck and her 17-year-old son bought tickets for a meet-and-greet with former U.S. president Obama but her son was banned by the Secret Service.
The woman cannot understand why her son was forbidden to attend a meeting that should take place on Monday during Obama’s visit to Winnipeg. This week, the family received a message that Aaron Dyck is not allowed to attend the event without giving a reason. Mother said that for a 17-year-old boy it was a real blow because the 44 US president is an example to follow for him.
“We registered and purchased the tickets, and you had to give you name and a little bit of contact information, not much else,” Dyck told. “I thought we were approved. I thought we were good to go, and we were excited for this opportunity. I thought it would be something really cool in a young teen’s life. These are formative years and kind of a life changing experience.”
Notice of the ban came on Tuesday. It only said that the guy is marked by the Secret Service. The only reason for the ban mother of the boy consideres the possibility that his name coincides with the name of someone on a watch list.
“I’m assuming that’s probably what it is. I don’t know how they go about doing the checking and vetoing process. In my mind, I’m thinking, they didn’t even have his birth date, so how are they gonna know who my son is? I’ve worked in healthcare, and I can tell you that so many people have the same name,” she said.
Lisa Dyck understands that the prohibition of her son from attending the meeting is due to security concerns and this is the main task of the Secret Service. However, she wants them to conduct an additional investigation before finalizing the issue.
“I thought it was a little bit harsh to not do more digging and rule out my son,” she said. “We’ve long admired the Obama family and what they’ve done in the States, and while we understand it, we’re just frustrated by the way it happened.”