CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Sarah Covert has been waiting for this day for weeks.
She and several hundred other volunteers have been spending weeks getting ready for the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. And now that the day is finally here, where are Covert and more than a dozen of her fellow volunteers?
Stuck on the passenger loading area of the last stop of Charlotte's light-rail system, unable to get to the Time Warner Cable Arena due to the protestors.
As of 2:30 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, Covert said many of the DNC volunteers have been unable to report to work due to street closures and the crowds of people gathered to either protest, watch the protesters, or provide security around the perimeter of the event.
"I have no idea who is protesting, but I wish they would get out of the way. We have a lot to do today," Covert said.
It does not help that Charlotte has closed down the entire district, including most streets around the TWC Arena, in order to secure the area. President Obama and the Democratic delegates are arriving in droves, and every limousine and town car in the uptown area is working diligently to transport VIPs all over the city.
But where does that leave Covert and other volunteers? For the past three weeks leading up to the Tuesday kickoff, Covert said she has used public transportation to travel to and from her volunteer job for the DNC. She has made cold calls, entered data, and helped organize the massive undertaking in the Queen City.
According to the Washington Post: "Dozens of protesters on Tuesday shut down an intersection blocks from the Democratic National Convention here, drawing hundreds of police officers and curious onlookers as they chanted against corporate greed, drone missiles and all manner of political woes.
"Officers armed with wooden bats, paintball guns and plastic handcuffs lined the perimeter of East Stonewall Street and South Caldwell Street while cheers of "Free Manning, Arrest Barack" and "You are the army of the rich" rose from men and women sitting and standing in the road."
As the afternoon weighs on and Brevard Street is still blocked, Covert sighs and waits for one of the Democratic Party organizers from the main office area in the TWC Arena to step in and assist.
