Donald Trump

‘Republicans Against Trump' Protestor Sparks Security Panic at Nevada Rally

The protestor told The Guardian news outlet that he was attacked by crowd members

Donald Trump was rushed off stage at a rally in Reno, Nevada, Saturday night while in the middle of a speech after someone shouted "gun," Secret Service officials said.

No weapon was subsequently found, the agency said in a statement released roughly 90 minutes after the incident. A man was escorted from the rally in handcuffs by police. 

The man who was removed, who identified himself as Austyn Crites, later told reporters that he is a lifelong Republican and only tried to hold up a sign that said "Republicans Against Trump."

The Secret Service said the 9:05 p.m. ET incident came amid a commotion in the crowd. The Republican presidential nominee was quickly hustled off the stage.

He returned to the stage roughly five minutes later, appearing unharmed.

"Nobody said it was going to be easy for us, but we will never be stopped," Trump said upon returning, thanking the Secret Service agents and continuing with his speech where he left off.

[NATL] Highlights From the 2016 Campaign Trail

About half an hour after the incident, Trump's campaign released a statement from the candidate: 

"I would like to thank the United States Secret Service and the law enforcement resources in Reno and the state of Nevada for their fast and professional response. I also want to thank the many thousands of people present for their unwavering and unbelievable support. Nothing will stop us - we will make America great again!"

After the Reno event, Trump made another campaign stop in Denver, Colorado. He did not mention the Reno incident at the Colorado rally, which was his fourth stop on Saturday. He said Clinton's many campaign stops indicates she is worried about losing support.

"She's going all over the place. She was supposed to be home sleeping," he said. Trump also praised the FBI for announcing it would be looking into more of Clinton's emails, criticized the language used by Jay Z at a Clinton rally Friday and urged the crowd to get their votes in by deadline.

"Otherwise they'll say, ‘Gee whiz, it got there 14 minutes late,' and they won't count it," he said.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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