Donald Trump: 78-Year-Old Man Arrested For Assault At North Carolina Rally
A 78-year-old man was arrested for assault on Wednesday in Fayetteville, North Carolina, after he punched a young protestor who was making his way up a flight of stairs at a Donald Trump campaign event.
New York Daily News reports that John McGraw, 78, is charged with assault and battery and disorderly conduct after he punched a young black male, who was walking up the stairs during Trump’s Wednesday campaign event. The victim was later identified as Rakeem Jones, who was part of a group of protesters who were escorted out of the event by police.
Fayetteville man punched yest at Trump Rally. Deputies just arrived at victim's house to notify of arrest #abc11 pic.twitter.com/3izUzA9Tx5
— Elaina Athans (@ElainaAthans1) March 10, 2016
A video taken of the incident clearly shows Jones, along with a small group of people, walking up the stairs and chanting. Although it’s unclear what he was saying, Trump acknowledged with a grimace that the group was made up of protesters and directed the Cumberland County deputies to escort them out.
As Jones made his way up the stairs, a man with a brown ponytail, long-sleeved red shirt, and brown hat, walked over to Jones and punched him in the face without provocation. Jones, wearing a white t-shirt, was dazed for a moment, but continued up the stairs, while one of his friends told the 78-year-old to back off. When he reached the top of the stairs, police tackled Jones to the ground and pushed him out of the stadium.
Donald Trump rally videos show protester getting punched: https://t.co/ZcmXrdHpYq pic.twitter.com/NBBPlO0Vhv
— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) March 10, 2016
According to a Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office news release, the deputies didn’t see the assault, although another video shows one of the deputies allegedly looking right at Jones when he was punched. Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sean Swain, however, said that since they didn’t see McGraw punch Jones, the elderly man wasn’t immediately arrested.
The sheriff’s office press release obviously upset Jones, who was forced out of the rally while the man who attacked him stayed behind.
“It’s happening at all these rallies now and they’re letting it ride. The police jumped on me like I was the one swinging. My eye still hurts. It’s just shocking. The shock of it all is starting to set in. It’s like this dude really hit me and they let him get away with it. I was basically in police custody and got hit.”
According to CBS News reporter Nate Rogers, Jones and a group of friends, which included a white woman, a gay male, and a Muslim, went to Trump’s rally to observe and protest, but had no intentions of being violent. Jones said that everyone was shouting and chanting at the event, yet he was the only one tackled to the ground and escorted out.
“Everyone was shouting, too. … No one in our group attempted to get physical.”
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton observed the video as well, and stated in an interview with MSNBC‘s Rachel Maddow that she’s appalled by what goes on at Trump’s campaign events.
“You know, you don’t make America great by, you know, dumping on everything that made America great, like freedom of speech and assembly and, you know, the right of people to protest.”
McGraw was later arrested and held at the Cumberland County jail on a $2,500 bond. Authorities are still combing through all the footage taken of the event, to determine exactly what happened. Donald Trump hasn’t commented on the arrest.
[Photo via Sean Rayford/Getty Images/Stringer]
