Woman throws shoe at Hillary Clinton in Vegas

A woman rushed past security and threw a shoe at HillaryClinton in Las Vegas on Thursday, but it missed and the former US secretary of statelaughed off the incident.The woman launched the projectile at the 66-year-old former First Lady as she wasaddressing a meeting of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI). Clinton, the presumed frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination in2016, ducked as the object whizzed past at head height to the left of her."What was that, a bat?... Is that somebody throwing something at me?" Clinton saidinitially at the event at the Mandalay Bay hotel/casino, according to video footageby the local KTNV station. Regaining her composure and sense of humor, she added: "Is that part of Cirque duSoleil?" -- a reference to the acrobatic dance troupe, which has several shows inVegas."My goodness, I didn't know that solid waste management was so controversial.Thank goodness she didn't play softball like I did," she said, drawing laughter andcheers from the audience.The blonde woman who threw the shoe was immediately escorted out of the hall, her hands in the air. She was later arrested, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.A spokesman for the organizers said the woman was not accredited for the meeting."Our staff denied her access before she later rushed past security. An ISRI stafferthen stopped her as she approached the stage. She was then handed over to law enforcement," ISRI spokesman Mark Carpenter told AFP.He added: "We are grateful that Secretary Clinton continued in a professionalmanner to share her firsthand knowledge and experience of how the recyclingindustry has a positive impact on the economy and environment."A spokesman for Clinton did not immediately respond to request for confirmationor comment.The most famous shoe-thrower of recent years was the Iraqi journalist who hurledhis own footwear at president George W. Bush at a press conference in Baghdad inDecember 2008. Muntazer al-Zaidi was sentenced to three years in prison for assaulting a head ofstate. That was reduced to one year on appeal, and his sentence was cut further forgood behavior.In February 2009 a German research student threw a shoe at Chinese premier WenJiabao during a speech at Cambridge University. Martin Jahnke, 27, was cleared ofcommitting a public order offense.