Single payer advocate Dr. Margaret Flowers, a Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate from Maryland, was forcefully removed from Goucher College’s Kraushaar Auditorium Monday evening after she protested her exclusion from a forum sponsored by the Baltimore Jewish Council and Goucher College.

Flowers had been previously invited twice to the forum —  attended by Congressman Chris Van Hollen and Congresswoman Donna Edwards — before being disinvited two weeks before the event.

When the candidates were asked to take the stage, Flowers stepped up to remind the organizers that her exclusion was in violation of IRS regulations that require non-profit organizations to be non-partisan.

“Many times during the first half of the forum, the moderator and Republican candidates emphasized that in this political moment voters are fed up with the status quo and are looking for alternatives,” Flowers said. “Yet, the one candidate who was invited and provides an alternative to the the two party system was excluded. I was ready to answer the questions but I was not given the chance. I wanted to participate in this debate, not protest it.”

Flowers was invited by the Baltimore Jewish Council to participate in early January.

The forum had been scheduled for February 24th and Flowers accepted the invitation.

Two weeks later the forum was delayed to March 28th and Flowers was once again invited to the rescheduled event.

At the time, no conditions were placed on the invitation.

In mid-March, Flowers was informed that she was no longer invited to participate in the event.

In an e-mail to the Flowers for Senate campaign, the Baltimore Jewish Council stated the reason for her no longer being welcome was because the BJC had “received so many responses.”

In phone conversations and personal meetings with the Flowers campaign the Council further stated that the event was limited to candidates polling at least 5% in polls, a new requirement that had never been mentioned before to the Flowers campaign.

Flowers pointed out both these reasons were false as only two Democrats were participating, there was no flood of responses and there have been no polls of Green Party candidates, making it impossible for the BJC to know that Flowers does not reach the polling threshold.

Flowers asserted that her level of support in the Green Party is well above 5%.

“I attempted to participate in tonight’s forum because there can be no democracy when voters aren’t allowed to hear from the candidates seeking public office,” said Flowers. “As a non-profit entity, the Baltimore Jewish Council has a responsibility to let all candidates speak. If it chooses to support a candidate or party over another, it should relinquish its non-profit status, act under the rules assigned to political advocacy groups and not solicit tax-deductible contributions.”