Just a day after violent protests in Chicago forced Donald Trump to cancel an event there, the GOP frontrunner had to pause his speech in Dayton, Ohio, after a man breached the security at the rally, causing Secret Service agents to swarm to protect him.
“I was ready for him, but it’s much easier if the cops do it, don’t we agree?” Trump said.
The man had tried to jump past the barricades and get to the platform where Trump was speaking, and has now been charged with disorderly conduct and inciting panic by the Dayton police department, the Washington Post reports.
Trump has blamed the latest wave of violent disruptions against his campaign on “organized, professionally staged wise guys.” Some protest groups have taken credit for shutting down the Trump rally in Chicago.
Best video of the attempted attack on Trump. pic.twitter.com/Et9uwur4Gt
— D.C. Diamond Dogs (@BenedictKMiller) March 12, 2016
Remember the #TrumpRally wasn’t just luck. It took organizers from dozens of organizations and thousands of people to pull off. Great work.
— People For Bernie (@People4Bernie) March 12, 2016
As a former leftist community organizer, I can tell you right now Chicago wasn’t ‘organic,’ it was more Romney/Bush/Soros than anything else
— Tammy Bruce (@HeyTammyBruce) March 12, 2016
“My people are nice,” Trump said at the Dayton Rally. “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.”
In a statement, Sanders blamed the violent protesters on Trump, saying his words provoked them.
“What caused the protests at Trump’s rally is a candidate that has promoted hatred and division,” Sanders said.
Clinton was more sympathetic to Trump, saying in a statement that “violence has no place in our politics” in response to the Chicago protests.
