Donald Trump rushed off stage in Nevada, man detained

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By BNO NEWS

Secret Service agents rushed Donald Trump off the stage at his campaign rally in Nevada after attendees thought they saw someone pull a gun, officials and witnesses say. The suspect was briefly detained but no weapon was found.

The incident happened just after 6 p.m. PT on Saturday when Trump was speaking at his rally in Reno. The candidate paused as several people in the crowd appeared to shout “he’s got a gun”, after which agents rushed the stage.

Trump was taken off the stage as heavily-armed officers tackled a man in the crowd, just a short distance from where the Republican nominee was speaking. The suspect was then handcuffed and taken out the room, but no weapon was found.

Trump returned to the stage about seven minutes later and expressed his appreciation for 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.

The detained man, whose identity was not immediately made public, was released about 1.5 hour after the incident and is not expected to face criminal charges. The man is a Republican who was holding a ‘Republicans against Trump’ sign, according to KRNV-TV reporter Benjamin Margiott.

After the incident, Trump social media director Dan Scavino Jr. retweeted a tweet that claimed the presidential candidate had been the target of an attempt on his life. “Hillary ran away from rain today. Trump is back on stage minutes after assassination attempt,” the tweet falsely claimed.

A short time later, Donald Trump Jr. also retweeted a tweet that implied Democrats were responsible. “Stop Democrat Violence #Reno,” the tweet said. The two tweets retweeted by Trump Jr. and Scavino were retweeted thousands of times.

Trump however was the target of an assassination attempt in June when a 19-year-old man tried to a grab a police officer’s gun during a rally in Las Vegas. The suspect, Michael Sandford, later told investigators that he had extensively plotted to kill the Republican candidate.

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