VALDOSTA, Ga. — Tamelonie Thomas was one of several students removed from a recent Donald Trump rally at Valdosta State University.

But Thomas, a black VSU student, said the incident was not racially motivated. 

“It was not racial,” she said. “There was profanity and the entire group was taken outside because of the profanity.”

A few of the students were dressed in all black clothing and were located behind the stage where Trump was scheduled to speak. 

They were removed about 30 minutes before the Republican front-runner began his fiery campaign speech last Monday evening.

According to Thomas, some of the students talked to a representative from the American Civil Liberties Union later in the week about a possible lawsuit.

“I think they are more upset about the university president (Cecil Staton) not reaching out to them the next day and asking them how they were treated than they are about anything that happened that night,” she said.

Thomas told the Valdosta (Georgia) Daily Times she does not think the ACLU has any reason to file a lawsuit and that she hopes all the talk about it dies down.

“Nothing happened,” she said. “No one was arrested. No one was mistreated. Everyone was respectful.”

According to Thomas, while she had met the group of 30 or more students at the rally, she was not among those who were using profanity, and said she thinks if anyone needed to be removed, it should have been the individuals that were loudly using bad language, not the entire group. Caucasian students in the group were removed as well, she said.

Thomas said she did not personally hear racial slurs and could only hear people chanting “Trump,” adding, “I can not confirm something I did not hear.” 

Thomas said students had been instructed prior to the event that protests had to be confined to specific areas and would not be allowed in the arena or in the area surrounding it. 

She said university officials had said federal law allows the U.S. Secret Service agents to prevent protests in areas that could be considered a potential threat to the person they are assigned to protect.

Thomas is not certain who the officers were that asked the group to leave the P.E. Complex at VSU.

“It was not the Valdosta police,” she said.

She said she had been told the officers were Secret Service agents.

Trump had not yet entered the arena and did not publicly call out the students or ask them to be removed.

Thomas said the entire removal was done in what she called a very discreet way and said there was no real ruckus. The group left through a side door near where they were seated, she explained. 

Once outside, Thomas said they were met by the Valdosta Police Department.

“They were very nice. They told us where protests could take place,” she said, insisting the police department was “respectful,” during the entire process.

“I just don’t like people, and the media, trying to turn this in to something that it was not,” Thomas said.

Zachary writes for the Valdosta (Georgia) Daily Times.