On Thursday morning, a video clip of a black man being assaulted by a Trump supporter at a Trump rally in North Carolina surfaced on the internet. The man, who was a non-violent protester, was being escorted out of the building by security when the Trump supporter walked up and sucker punched him. Instead of detaining the Trump supporter who assaulted the protester, security tacked the protester to the ground and appeared to have put him in cuffs. This is just the latest in a string of incidents involving non-violent protesters of all ages, races and religions being escorted out of Trump rallies.
The man who was seen in the video sucker punching the protester has been identified as 78 year old John McGraw. He was questioned and arrested by the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office after the video surfaced. McGraw, whose bond was set at $2,500, is due back in court on April 6.
McGraw tells Inside Edition that the victim, identified as Rakeem Jones, “deserved it” and was not “acting like an American.”
“Yes, he deserved it. The next time we see him, we might have to kill him. We don’t know who he is. He might be with a terrorist organization,” McGraw said in the interview following the rally.
At the time McGraw punched Jones, he was not questioned and was allowed to remain at the event. Jones, who was tackled to the ground by officers, was escorted out, but not arrested. The sheriff’s department has opened up an internal investigation to determine whether the half dozen officers in the video, who did not detain or arrest McGraw on site, should have done so.
Members of Trump’s campaign are denying any involvement, but this is happening at every rally now. At some point, will Trump denounce the violence or does someone have to die first? Could you imagine if video footage hadn’t leaked?
