PROTESTER OF THE DAY: Darla Moody

CHARLOTTE — Back in 2008, Darla Moody said she believed the hype surrounding Barack Obama.

A lawyer from Daingerfield, Texas, she said she believed that he would pull the U.S. out of the two wars it was fighting, and she believed that he would reduce the power of international bankers, who she said rule the country.

But on Tuesday, Moody was walking alone along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard after the morning protests near Time Warner Cable Arena, where she had spoken against the same man she voted for four years ago. She said Obama’s betrayal is the reason she so ardently wants to oust him.

“I feel cheated. I feel like he’s a traitor,” Moody said. “But more than that, I’m an attorney and I represent veterans, and I voted for Obama because he told me I wouldn’t have anymore clients. And he lied.”

Moody, wearing a mask popularized by “V for Vendetta,” a 2006 film about government oppression, said she is worried that the continued control of the U.S. by international bankers will lead to a police state in the future. She said Charlotte was the perfect place to come protest.

“Did you happen to catch the protest today?” she asked, referring to the massive turnout by law enforcement to confront protesters near the arena Tuesday morning. “That’s ridiculous. We’re peaceful protesters. I mean that kind of police presence is either for show or to discredit us, or we have a serious problem.”

Now she is a supporter of U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, a Republican who calls himself a libertarian. Moody said it is important for people to protest, no matter the issue, to ensure the world is better for the future generation, like her 4-year-old daughter.

Payton Guion can be reached at [email protected].

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