“He called me Abe, and then I turned around and he said, ‘Do you have a permit?’ I said ‘no’ and he said, ‘well you can’t do that here then,’” Howell told The Daily Caller. “Then I said, ‘I’m just giving the Gettysburg Address, come on, it’s President’s Day.’ And he said, ‘I don’t care what you’re giving, You’re not allowed to do that here. I don’t care what speech or what agenda you want to give.’”

Confused as to why it is actually illegal to read the words carved into the memorial’s wall in a loud voice, but not wanting to cause any trouble, the 6-foot-4 Howell, who sports a thick beard and looks just like Honest Abe in a top hat and suit, moved to the bottom of the steps and delivered the rest of the speech to a cheering crowd.

But his troubles didn’t end there.