Police say a man will face charges after storming into the press area at a Trump rally
CTV
Police said Saturday that a man will face misdemeanour charges after he stormed into the press area at Donald Trump's rally in Johnstown, Pa., before being surrounded by authorities and eventually subdued with a Taser as the former president spoke at the campaign stop.
Police said Saturday that a man will face misdemeanour charges after he stormed into the press area at Donald Trump's rally in Johnstown, Pa., before being surrounded by authorities and eventually subdued with a Taser as the former president spoke at the campaign stop.
The incident Friday came moments after Trump had criticized major media outlets for what he said was unfavourable coverage and had dismissed CNN as fawning for its interview Thursday with his Democratic rival Kamala Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz.
It was not immediately clear what motivated the man or whether he was a Trump supporter or critic.
The man made it over a barrier ringing the media area and began climbing the back side of a riser where television reporters and cameras were stationed, according to a video of the incident posted to social media by a reporter for CBS News. People near him tried to pull him off the riser and were quickly joined by police officers and sheriff's deputies.
The crowd cheered as a pack of police led the man away, prompting Trump to say, "Is there anywhere that's more fun to be than a Trump rally?"
Johnstown's police chief, Richard M. Pritchard, confirmed to The Associated Press on Saturday that the man was arrested, released and will be formally charged next week. Pritchard said the man, whose identity will be disclosed when charges are filed, will face misdemeanors in municipal court for alleged disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and disrupting a public assembly.
Pritchard, who was not directly involved in the arrest, declined to speculate on the man's motives.
