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Trump rushed off stage in Reno after shooter threat

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump was rushed off stage by secret service at a rally in Reno, Nevada Saturday, Nov. 5.
Rally attendees in the crowd before Trump shouted, “He’s got a gun,” causing a chain reaction of secret service sweeps and a mosh of crowd members and police rushing the alleged gunman.
After secret service got ahold of the man, they found no gun.
Armed agents led the man out of the rally.
The Trump campaign released this statement soon after the incident:
“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!”
This mirrors a similar incident during a campaign stop in Dayton, Ohio earlier this year when a man attempted to rush the candidate’s lectern outside an airplane hangar. Secret service escorted Trump to safety on both accounts.
The candidate continued his speech in Reno shortly after the incident.
The man later identified himself to reporters as Austyn Crites after being released from custody. According to CNN, no charges were filed against Crites.
Crites told reporters the incident started after he raised a “Republicans against Trump sign, and that he was assaulted by people around him before any words about a gun were shouted.”
“All of a sudden, because they couldn’t grab the sign, or whatever happened, bam, I get tackled by all these people who were just, like, kicking me and grabbing me in the crotch and just, just beating the crap out of me,” Crites said, according to KTNV. “And somebody yells something about a gun, and so that’s when things really got out of hand.”
Assault cases like this are not uncommon at Trump rallies. During a March rally in North Carolina, a man threw punches at a protester being escorted out of the arena, following it up with “next time, we might have to kill him.”
Trump spun the false shooter incident as a chance to show his strength over his opponent, Sec. Hillary Clinton.
This incident occurred less than three days out from the election.

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