The Slatest

Watch Secret Service Agents Surround Trump as Man Tries to Rush Security Barricade

Secret Service agents surround Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during a disturbance as he speaks at Dayton International Airport in Dayton, Ohio, on Saturday.

Aaron P. Bernstein/Reuters

There was a dramatic turn of events at a Trump rally in Dayton, Ohio, on Saturday when Secret Service agents jumped to form a protective barrier around the candidate as someone tried to rush the stage. The man “attempted to breach the secure buffer and was removed rapidly and professionally,” a campaign spokeswoman said. The man was identified as 32-year-old Thomas Dimassimo. His motives were unclear, but Dimassimo was charged with disorderly conduct and inciting panic.

“I was ready for him, but it’s much easier if the cops do it, don’t we agree?” Trump said. “And to think I had such an easy life! What do I need this for, right?”

A video posted on YouTube by someone attending the rally clearly shows the man trying to rush through the security barricade at the rally.

The event marked the first time that agents swarmed the stage in such a dramatic fashion during a Trump rally and came a day after the Republican presidential front-runner canceled an event in Chicago amid violent skirmishes between protesters and supporters. Trump said that his backers “caused no problem” at the rally and instead blamed supporters of Bernie Sanders for the violence.

“My people are nice,” Trump said. “Thousands and thousands of people, they caused no problem. They were taunted, they were harassed by these other people. These other people, by the way, some represent Bernie, our communist. … He should really get up and say to his people: Stop. Stop.”

Secret Service agents detain a man after a disturbance as Donald Trump spoke at Dayton International Airport in Dayton, Ohio, on Saturday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

William Philpott/Reuters

Read more Slate coverage of the 2016 presidential election.