Trump rushed off stage at campaign rally in security scare

Crites said he was then assaulted by a group of people around him before anyone shouted anything about a gun.

“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, while addressin according to Las Vegas based media KTNV. “And somebody yells something about a gun, and so that’s when things really got out of hand.”

The alleged assault against Crites is just the latest such incident to occur at a Trump rally, where other protesters have previously been roughed up.

Trump was however unharmed and returned to the stage minutes later to finish his speech.

“Nobody said it was going to be easy for us, but we will never be stopped. We will never be stopped. I want to thank the Secret Service. These guys are fantastic,” Trump said, before returning to his stump speech.

Trump was in the middle of his stump speech when the commotion occurred. He was looking into the crowd, his hand over his eyes to block the glare from the stage lights, when Secret Service agents grabbed him and escorted him off the stage. Trump ducked his head as he left the stage.

The crowd surged backward, some supporters with frightened looks on their faces, as the Secret Service and police tactical units rushed in to detain a man.

Several attendees told CNN they initially heard a person yell there was someone with a gun.

“We were all very interested in what Mr. Trump had to say and a guy in a red shirt just rushed right next to me, screaming, ‘There is a guy with a gun,'” Shimon Cohen told CNN.

But asked if he saw a gun, he said, “No, I did not.”

“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,” he said.

“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!” said Trump, in a statement issued before the rally, concerning the commotion.

Less than an hour after the incident — and before it was clear what happened — Trump’s campaign sought to highlight the moment to suggest he was tougher than his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, who had to cut short a Florida rally due to heavy rain.

A re-tweet by Dan Scavino Jr., Trump’s social media director, and Donald Trump Jr., his oldest son, read “Hillary (Clinton) ran away from rain today. Trump is back on stage minutes after assassination attempt.”

The tweet was originally written by Jack Posobiec, alleged to be one of Trump’s supporters.

But the Secret Service statement made clear no weapon had been found. Neither has deleted the retweet.

Secret Service agents rushed to shield Trump onstage in March after a man tried to rush the stage during a rally in Dayton, Ohio, but the GOP nominee wasn’t escorted off stage.

And a man was arrested at a rally in Las Vegas in June after he tried to grab a police officer’s gun, which he said he planned to use to shoot Trump.