US election 2016: Donald Trump bundled off stage by security over crowd gunman fears

Tom Powell6 November 2016

A Donald Trump rally descended into chaos last night as the Republican presidential candidate was bundled off stage by his security team.

With just two full days left before the US election, Mr Trump was delivering a speech at a packed rally in Reno in the swing-state of Nevada.

But a panic was sparked when someone near a man said to have been holding an anti-Trump placard claimed the protester had a gun.

It sparked panic in the crowd as several hundred people surged towards the back of the hall.

Panic: Secret Service agents rush Mr Trump off the stage
REUTERS

The protester, Austyn Crites, 33, was tackled to the ground and searched.

No weapon was found and it is believed a tightly folded poster under his arm may have been misidentified as a firearm.

As Mr Trump noticed the commotion, he stopped talking and shielded his eyes, before two agents grabbed him and marched him quickly off stage.

Several Trump supporters detained the alleged protestor by wrestling him to the ground and then lying on top of him.

Minutes later Mr Crites, who held a ‘Republicans against Trump’ sign, was escorted out in handcuffs by police. He has since been released.

Confident: Donald Trump punches the air after returning to the stage
REUTERS

Mr Crites later confirmed that he was moving through the crowd but claimed he was merely walking forward in order to hold his sign up.

“All of a sudden people next to me are starting to get violent; they’re grabbing at my arm, trying to rip the sign out of my hand,” he told the Guardian.

“As I was taken from the room, people are just looking at me like I’m a demon."

Mr Crites said that he heard someone shout “something about a gun” and that he kept telling them he had just been holding a sign.

He added: "I've been supporting Republican candidates for quite some time - but I just don't support Donald Trump."

Mr Trump eventually returned to the stage and thanked the Secret Service agents, saying: “Those guys are fantastic”.

“Nobody said it was going to be easy but we will never be stopped. We will never be stopped,” he added.

A Secret Service spokesman said: “Immediately in front of the stage, an unidentified individual shouted ‘gun’. Secret Service agents and Reno police officers immediately apprehended the subject.

“Upon a thorough search of the subject and the surrounding area, no weapon was found.”

Just two days remain for Mr Trump and rival Hillary Clinton to campaign in the race to become the next president of the United States.

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