(Headline USA) Police said Saturday that a man—believed to be a radical leftist—will face misdemeanor charges after he stormed into the press area at Donald Trump’s rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
The assailant was quickly surrounded by authorities and eventually subdued with a Taser as the former president spoke at the campaign stop.
Although his identity had not yet been released—preventing a fuller understanding of his motives and political views—multiple social-media accounts featuring video of the episode suggested that it was a left-wing protester.
A lunatic liberal just charged at Donald Trump!
These people are INSANE!
— American AF 🇺🇸 (@iAnonPatriot) August 30, 2024
Video of the incident does not make clear what the man was yelling as he climbed barriers or as he was being subdued and arrested. However, other rallygoers were less than receptive to the disturbance and appeared to be jeering the assailant, as well as giving him the middle finger.
The incident Friday came moments after Trump had criticized major media outlets for what he said was unfavorable coverage and had dismissed CNN as fawning for its interview Thursday with his Democratic rival Kamala Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz.
Moments before the man ventured into the media’s designated section, Trump had reprised his familiar assertion that the mainstream media is a collective “enemy of the people.”
However, it also comes just weeks after an unhinged Democrat donor attempted to assassinate Trump at a rally in Butler, Pa., roughly 80 miles from the site of Friday’s rally.
The man made it over a barrier ringing the media area and began climbing the back side of a riser where television reporters and cameras were stationed, according to a video of the incident posted to social media by a reporter for CBS News. People near him tried to pull him off the riser and were quickly joined by police officers and sheriff’s deputies.
The crowd cheered as a pack of police led the man away, prompting Trump to say, “Is there anywhere that’s more fun to be than a Trump rally?”
Johnstown’s police chief, Richard M. Pritchard, confirmed to the Associated Press on Saturday that the man was arrested, released and will be formally charged next week.
Pritchard said the man, whose identity will be disclosed when charges are filed, will face misdemeanors in municipal court for alleged disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and disrupting a public assembly.
Pritchard, who was not directly involved in the arrest, declined to speculate on the man’s motives.
Trump’s campaign sought to distance the former president from the man and his actions, suggesting he was a Trump opponent.
“Witnesses, including some in the press corps, described a crazed individual shouting expletives at President Trump,” said campaign senior adviser Danielle Alvarez. “His aggression was focused on the president and towards the stage as he entered the press area.”
Alvarez did not identify the witnesses she cited or expound on what the man may have shouted. Alvarez added that the campaign appreciates the response of local law enforcement officials and the U.S. Secret Service for acting quickly.
Shortly after the incident, police handcuffed another man in the crowd and led him out of the arena. It was not immediately clear whether that detention was related to the initial altercation.
Security at political events has been noticeably tighter since the July 13 assassination attempt.
A Secret Service spokesperson referred questions to local authorities.
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
