Trump’s guard, Secret Service security form ring around him at Ohio rally after disruption
A personal security guard and some Secret Service agents scrambled onto the stage where Donald Trump was speaking at a rally in Dayton, Ohio, on Saturday morning, prompted by a disruption from the crowd that startled him as he spoke from the podium.
It was a dramatic display, although it was not immediately clear what led to the reaction.
On Friday night, Trump abruptly canceled his rally in Chicago as hundreds of activists scuffled with his supporters inside the arena where it was to take place. But the Dayton event Saturday was fairly quiet, until the end.
One man began protesting about 10 minutes before Trump finished talking.
“What took him so long to put up his hand? We’re almost finished!” Trump said, mocking the man and telling him to “go back to mommy.”
As that person was escorted out, Trump appeared to react to a disturbance to his right. People could be heard screaming, and Trump ducked his head, grabbing his podium with both hands before backing away.
One of Trump’s personal security guards, who has worked for him for years, was the first to jump on stage. Three other men who appeared to be Secret Service agents jumped on stage, and all formed a ring around Trump.
A few seconds later, they hopped back off the stage, suggesting whatever had taken place was not a real threat.
“Thank you for the warning,” Trump told the crowd. “I was ready for him, but it’s much easier if the cops do it.”
In an email, a spokeswoman for Trump, Hope Hicks, said, “A man attempted to breach the secure buffer and was removed rapidly and professionally.” She directed further questions to the Secret Service, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Reports of violence at Trump rallies are increasing. A reporter for a conservative news website filed a police report Friday alleging that she was battered at a Donald Trump press conference in Florida.
Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields filed the report with the Jupiter, Florida, police department. Police spokesman Officer Adam Brown released a heavily redacted copy of the report, saying specific details are confidential as part of an ongoing investigation.
On the Breitbart website, Fields has said she was forcibly grabbed by the arm and yanked as she tried to interview Trump after a Tuesday night press conference while the Republican front-runner mingled with reporters. She posted photos of her bruised arm.
Originally, Breitbart and The Washington Post reported that the 28-year-old reporter was grabbed by Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski.
The Post stood by its story on its website Friday, but Breitbart backed away. It posted a story saying video shows the “likeliest explanation” is that Fields was accosted by a security officer who was next to Trump and Lewandowski. Trump is protected at events by both Secret Service agents and private security guards.
“Given the similarity in appearance between Lewandowski and the security official, and given the fact that Lewandowski was walking on the other side of Trump from where Fields was at the time, the possibility of mistaken identity cannot be ruled out,” Breitbart reporter Joel B. Pollak wrote on the website.
Trump and his campaign have vehemently denied Lewandowski grabbed Fields.
Campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks described the accusation as “entirely false.”
“As one of dozens of individuals present as Mr. Trump exited the press conference I did not witness any encounter. In addition to our staff, which had no knowledge of said situation, not a single camera or reporter of more than 100 in attendance captured the alleged incident,” she said in a statement.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This story was originally published March 12, 2016 at 11:26 AM with the headline "Trump’s guard, Secret Service security form ring around him at Ohio rally after disruption."