Five cops were suspended after a pro-Trump landed a blow on an African-American anti-Trump protester. The deputies were escorting Rakeem Jones, the protester, out of an arena, when John Franklin McGraw, a Trump supporter, threw a punch at Jones. The events on March 9 were caught in a video as it unfolded in a Trump for President rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina. The video shows the cops, who were escorting Jones, pinning the disoriented protester to the ground after he received the punch.
"After I get it, before I could even gain my thoughts, I'm on the ground getting escorted out," Jones told The Washington Post.
Sheriff Earl Butler posted a statement publicizing the disciplinary actions imposed on the deputies. According to Butler, three of the deputies were demoted and were suspended for five days without pay due to "unsatisfactory performance and failing to discharge the duties and policies of the Office of the Sheriff." The other two were also suspended without pay for three days for the same reason.
"We regret that any of the circumstances at the Trump rally occurred, and we regret that we have had to investigate all of these matters. Yet, it is our duty and responsibility to do justice, and to carefully examine not only the actions of others, but our own actions to ensure that the law and our policies are justly and fairly enforced based in principle and without other influences," Butler said ending his statement.
Despite the violence in the rally, Cumberland County Sheriff's Office will not be filing a charge of inciting riot against the Republican Frontrunner, Donald Trump. According to a report by The Washington Post, the Sheriff's Office concluded that it "does not meet the requisites of the law" to "support a conviction" of inciting a riot.
Meanwhile, in a tweet by Mashable News, Presidential Candidate, Donald Trump, who was the center of the mentioned NC rally, commended the violent acts of his supporters against protesters and labeled it "appropriate." The tweet also features a video from Fox News where Trump talks about a guy who was "swinging at the audience" and the "audience swung back." According to the Republican Frontrunner, he thought that "it was very, very appropriate."
"That's what we need a little bit more of," Trump added in the video.
Mashable News reported that Donald Trump have reiterated in his media interviews that he condone violence, however, these words seem to oppose his claim.
