JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A man ran into the press area at a rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, where former President Donald Trump was speaking Friday, but was surrounded by police and sheriff's deputies and eventually subdued with a Taser.
The spat came shortly after Trump criticized mainstream media coverage he found unfavorable, dismissing CNN's Thursday interview with his Democratic rival, Sen. Kamala Harris, and vice presidential nominee Tim Walz as kowtowing.
According to a video of the incident posted to social media by a CBS News reporter, the man climbed over bike racks surrounding the media area and began climbing up the back of the stairs where television reporters and cameras were located. Bystanders tried to pull the man down the stairs and were soon joined by police officers.
As a group of police officers took the man away, the crowd cheered, and Trump said, “What better place to be than a Trump rally?”
Minutes later, police handcuffed another man in the crowd and escorted him from the arena, but it was unclear if that detention was related to the initial altercation.
The incident came amid heightened security at Trump rallies after a gunman shot Trump, grazed his ear, at an outdoor rally near Butler, Pennsylvania. Security at political events has been significantly beefed up since the shooting.
It is unclear what the man's motives were, or whether he was a supporter or critic of Trump. Harsh attacks on the media are a staple of Trump's rally speeches, with supporters often turning to the press box to boo and give journalists the finger to show their disgust.
