UPDATED 11:20 p.m. The Secret Service has issued a statement saying the incident occurred when someone in the crowd shouted “Gun!” After searching the person and the surrounding area, no weapon was found.
The person was apprehended, but authorities have not disclosed whether the person will be charged with a crime.
The statement also noted that anyone in attendance to would have passed through a magnetometer before being granted entry to the rally.
Not long after the incident, Trump’s son, Don Jr., and Dan Scavino, who runs Trump’s social media operation, were falsely spreading a rumor that incident was an assassination attempt.
ST. GEORGE — Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump was rushed off stage by the Secret Service during a rally in Reno, Nevada, Saturday evening.
Trump was speaking to supporters in when a disturbance broke out in the crowd close to the podium.
Two Secret Service agents quickly surrounded Trump, rushing him off the stage.
The nature of the disturbance was unclear.
Upon his return to the stage just a few minutes later, Trump appeared unharmed and thanked the Secret Service.
“Nobody said it was going to be easy for us. But we will never be stopped. Never ever be stopped,” he said to the crowd.
Trump’s campaign issued the following statement shortly 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!
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Here’s some additional information from the UK Daily Mail:
“…authorities dragged the man away, identified as 33-year old Austyn Crites…”
“…Crites, who was holding a ‘Republicans Against Trump’ sign…”
“Crites identifies as a Republican who supports Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, according to his Facebook page.”
“Authorities never confirmed early reports that Crites or any civilians at the rally had a firearm.”
“…Crites, who since has been released…”