Thomas DiMassimo: 22-Year-Old Receiving Death Threats Following Ohio Trump Rally
Thomas DiMassimo, the now famous Donald Trump “stage rusher” has apparently received thousands of death threats since his attempt to speak to the crowd during a weekend Trump rally in Ohio. The 22-year-old tells FOX8 his parents have also received numerous threats.
DiMassimo, who lives in Fairborn, Ohio, and attends Wright State University, never made it to the podium. Instead, he was blocked by Secret Service officers and later arrested and charged with causing panic and disorderly conduct. Thomas is due back in court on Wednesday.
In a recent interview with CNN, DiMassimo stated all he wanted to do at the Ohio Trump rally was send a message.
“I was thinking that I could get up on stage and take his podium away from him and take his mic away from him and send a message to all people out in the country who wouldn’t consider themselves racist, who wouldn’t consider themselves approving of what type of violence Donald Trump is allowing in his rallies, and send them a message that we can be strong.”
USSS did an excellent job stopping the maniac running to the stage. He has ties to ISIS. Should be in jail! https://t.co/tkzbHg7wyD?ssr=true
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 12, 2016
When asked, by CNN, if his plan was to attack presidential candidate, Donald Trump at the Ohio rally, DiMassimo’s answer was “no.” He had the same response, when asked about his possible ties to ISIS.
“I am not a member of ISIS. I have no known ties to ISIS. I’ve never been out of the country. I only speak English.”
He went on to explain that his participation in the ISIS-related footage Trump referenced, in a Tweet about the incident, was doctored. That, in fact, the video Trump was taking about was actually taken over a year ago.
The video in question referenced a protest that took place in April 2015, on the grounds of the university Thomas DiMassimo still attends. In an interview published by WHIO, he told reporters the demonstration was to show solidarity with the organization somewhat responsible for an arrest that took place at Valdosta State University the week before.
In part, the video showed DiMassimo standing on the American flag. It also depicted a U.S. Air Force veteran taking a flag from demonstrators and eventually being led away in handcuffs.
Man arrested at Trump rally has a history of protesting– at WSU. A story from last year: https://t.co/B8urKiPSgu pic.twitter.com/0HCcCHF4UG
— WHIOTV (@whiotv) March 13, 2016
At the time, he also said he thought it would “ruffle some feathers,” but he was surprised how tense the backlash would become.
On the other side of the coin, according to CNN, Trump responded to the backlash he received about DiMassimo’s ISIS participation on the Sunday edition of Meet the Press.
“Was that him? It looked like the same man to me. He was dragging a flag along the ground and he was playing a certain type of music. And supposedly, there was chatter about ISIS. Now, I don’t know. What do I know about it? All I know is what’s on the Internet.”
What are your thoughts about the Donald Trump “stage rusher?” Do you think he meant more harm than good, when he entered the Ohio Trump rally? As of this writing, DiMassimo’s Twitter and Facebook accounts have disappeared into thin air, so it’s hard to ascertain what he may have really been thinking.
Another question is this: How many more death threats will Thomas DiMassimo get before his recent antics are yesterday’s news?
[Photo by Tony Dejak/AP Images]
