The United States Secret Service whisked Donald Trump off-stage in Reno tonight after a man reached into his jacket to produce a flag. Someone nearby shouted “gun!” and the agents whisked Trump to safety, showing folks a peek at the heavy security that follows the probable next president of the USA.
The man pulling the “Republicans Against Trump” flag? He got to kiss the concrete floor as audience members next to him saw his suspicious movements and took him down. Security, police and Secret Service agents swarmed the man as he continued to struggle. Eventually, he got led away in handcuffs.
Trump whisked off-stage.
The man causing the commotion is led away.
Agents and heavily armed police secure the backstage area where Trump’s detail took him.
Trump came back out a short while later to pick up where he left off. After thanking the Secret Service for their work keeping him safe. “‘I want to thank the Secret Service. These guys are fantastic. They don’t get enough credit. They don’t get enough credit. They’re amazing people,” Trump told the audience.
Indeed.
Here’s the story from the UK Daily Mail:
The Donald is rushed off the stage by Secret Service while speaking during Reno rally after a ‘Republicans against Trump’ protester causes chaos in the crowd over fears he had a gun
Secret Service agents rushed Donald Trump offstage on Saturday evening during a rally in Reno, Nevada after they determined a protester in the audience might pose a threat to the Republican presidential candidate.
‘Go! Go!’ agents shouted as they whisked Trump away and a combination of local police and private security wrestled Austyn Crites, 33, to the ground in the front of the crowd.
Crites identifies as a Republican who supports Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, according to his Facebook page.
A senior Trump campaign official told DailyMail.com that the suspect, whom rally-goers already identified as an anti-Trump protester, caused a panic when he reached into his waistband.
At that point, the campaign official said, a voice called out: ‘He’s got a gun!’
Trump’s protective detail sprang into action, pulling him offstage as a sea of bodies scattered, screams rang out and authorities dragged Crites away as he kicked and strained.
…Witness Donald Newton, 45, of California who was in the crowd at the time, said he was next to Crites, who he said was holding a sign and started heading toward the stage.
‘He had something on his belly. I don’t know what it was,’ Newton told the Reno Gazette-Journal.
‘Somebody yelled “gun” and everyone jumped on him. My friend put his knee on his head, but he kept getting up.’
Federal agents and tactical officers from Reno Police removed Crites and placed him in a bathroom near a secure entrance where Trump’s motorcade and the press vehicles were staged.