Chris Christie violates sanctity of Amtrak quiet car, asked to leave

Gawker and CNN are reporting that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie committed one of the great sins of Northeast Corridor rail travel Sunday morning. The GOP presidential candidate apparently boarded an Amtrak train from D.C. to New York, entered the sanctified "quiet car", then proceeded to yell at his security staffers over some kind of seating mishap before making loud phone calls. After 5-10 minutes of this, a conductor, alerted by irate quiet car passengers, approached Christie and asked him to relocate. As Christie moved to another car, he reportedly began once again yelling at his security staff.

(For the uninitiated, the Amtrak quiet car is supposed to be a zen-like space where loud conversations and phone calls are prohibited so that passengers there can enjoy their e-books and crappy Wi-Fi in peace.)

See photos of Chris Christie on the campaign trail:

Reached for comment by CNN, a Christie spokesman said that the candidate had boarded the quiet car by mistake. "After breaking the cardinal rule of the quiet car, the Governor promptly left once he realized the serious nature of his mistake and enjoyed the rest of his time on the train from the cafe car. Sincere apologies to all the patrons of the quiet car that were offended."

The passenger who reported the incident also told Gawker, that "Christie was having an intense phone conversation, repeating the phrases, 'this is frickin' ridiculous' and 'seriously?! seriously?!'" Christie is currently polling around 3 percent in GOP primary polls, but did barely make the cut to not get bumped down to the kid's table/quiet car for the next debate.

More from Daily Intelligencer:
4 killed and 47 injured after car crashes into spectators at an Oklahoma homecoming parade
Bernie Sanders has finally begun challenging Hillary Clinton's record
FBI director links increased violent crime to police scrutiny in the 'age of viral videos'