Month: November 2016

It’s a frightening moment. A candidate strains to peer out into another friendly crowd, shielding his eyes from the glare of lights, when suddenly there’s a commotion close to the stage. Someone shouts “he’s got a gun!” A security agent rushes on stage and the candidate is swept to safety quickly.

That happened to Donald Trump today, at a campaign rally in Nevada on Saturday. A man from the crowd named Austyn Crites was taken to a back room under armed guard, but later released. Apparently Crites raised a protest sign reading “Republicans Against Trump, when he was mobbed and roughed up. Then someone, for unknown reasons, shouted about the gun, triggering the reaction from security. But despite a thorough search, no gun was found at the scene. It appears to be a false alarm, and the incident may have simply been a misunderstanding.

Much to Trump’s credit, he returned to the stage after a few minutes, when it was clear there wasn’t a credible threat. However, the candidate lost no time turning the incident to his advantage, bashing Hillary Clinton for missing a campaign event of her own due to inclement weather.

This is a sobering event that demonstrates how vulnerable candidates and politicians, even Presidential hopefuls, are to possible violence. Despite the best efforts of security teams, sometimes a determined assassin gets through, as history has taught us.

It’s our sincere hope at Face Activities that the outcome of the 2016 Presidential Election is determined collectively by the American People, at the ballot box. Violence or threats of violence have no place in this or any election, at any time. The Trump campaign, and crowds at Trump events, have reputations for dealing with protesters at rallies harshly. This incident may be the harshest example of all.