A man at GOP candidate Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania had to be tasered to the ground after he attempted to jump into the press section.
The man, who was wearing sunglasses and a gray jacket, tried to storm into the area moments after Trump criticized media outlets for supposedly favoring his Democratic rival Kamala Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, in their coverage on Friday.
Footage taken at the Johnstown rally shows cops and rally-attenders trying to peel the disrupter off the metal fence as he continued to cling on with both his arms.
But after a few seconds of struggle, officials managed to pull him down while crowds of people chanted.
In the end, the man could be seen being pushed to the ground as officers tasered him.
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Violence at Trump rally. Man attacks press after Trump whines about CNN; once police march him off, Trump says his rallies are the most fun 😑
— A. (@TheSocioPhi) August 31, 2024
The crowd continued to cheer as a pack of police led the man away, prompting Trump to declare: ‘Is there anywhere that´s more fun to be than a Trump rally?’
Officials also handcuffed another man in the crowd and led him out of the arena, though they did not clarify if that detention was related to the initial altercation.
It remains unclear what motivated the man to try to storm the area or whether he was a Trump supporter or critic.
Fierce criticism of the media has become a standard part of Trump’s rally speeches, prompting his supporters to turn toward the press section and boo, often while using a middle finger to demonstrate their distaste for journalists.
The failed attempt comes days after it was revealed that the Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old man who shot at Trump and grazed his ear, may not have been working alone.
Republican Rep. Mike Waltz said the gunman’s motivation is still unknown and he is worried a foreign entity or other third-party could have been involved in the attack.
Waltz queried how federal law enforcement can confidently say Crooks was a lone wolf if they can’t answer other questions like why he had multiple foreign encrypted messaging accounts.
His comments came after it was revealed that Iran was also plotting an attempt on the former president’s life around the same time that Crooks carried out his plan.
‘The more we get into it, the more questions I have,’ Waltz said.
‘It’s really what’s coming out around it that is so disturbing.
‘And for me, the thing that’s most disturbing is that we have ongoing plots from Iran to take out a former president, leading candidate, and that a Pakistani national was just arrested after making a down payment for hitmen, and it’s barely even being covered in the news.’
Crooks was able to create multiple explosives with remote detonators, another thing that raised Waltz’s eyebrows and makes him wonder whether he had help.
As the FBI, U.S. Secret Service (USSS) and Department of Homeland Security conduct their investigations into the massive security failure, Waltz and 12 other lawmakers on a House task force are also looking into the attempted assassination.
when trump speaks…..his talks mainly criticize his opponents…when the dems speak…their talk is more distorted and evil…when i hear it…they are saying lies…they make up things…no one has to make up things about the dems….we can see it onlive tv…
The idiot had to be on something pretty good or he is having a bad meth trip It took a half dozen cops to get him down This guy was either high or nuts because a sane person has to know he is never going to make it to that stage Oh well he is going to have a lot of bumps and bruises when he serves his time The democrats are always trying to disarm the citizens So then it will be safe for people that have protection The communists on the democrat side of the aisle don’t care It is not guns that are problem It is the society that we live in This has all been caused by years of communists that portray themselves as liberals