The funny thing about the violence that occasionally (and by “occasionally” we mean “fairly often”) breaks out at Donald Trump rallies is that once the dust settles, no one will admit they had anything to do with it.
Trump supporters will say protesters shouted obscenities and sought to instigate fights in an example of “liberals behaving badly.” Protesters, on the other hand, will say Trump supporters indiscriminately attacked them for exercising their right to express concern about the GOP frontrunner’s campaign rhetoric. And for his part, Trump will claim protesters trample on his First Amendment rights.
Whatever the case, everyone claims they’re innocent when it comes to instigating the melees when in reality, everyone in attendance shares some of the blame.
Well, just a little over a week after an African American Trump supporter punched a protester donning an American flag button-down and a KKK hood, we get footage of the latest "incident" to occur at a rally for the billionaire, this time in Wisconsin, where a 15-year-old girl was pepper sprayed after appearing to punch someone who isn't visible in the frame.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_f1ZkwD_ww
Who knows what actually happened here and we won't endeavor to speculate. Here's the official statement from the Janesville Police Department:
“A 15-year-[old] girl from Janesville was pepper sprayed in the crowd by a non-law enforcement person. A 19-year-old woman from Madison received second hand spray as well. Both individuals received medical attention at local hospitals."
“A male in the [crowd] groped the 15-year-[old] girl, when she pushed him away; another person in the [crowd] sprayed her. We are currently looking for two suspects, one for the sexual assault and one for the pepper spray."
We're sure they'll be far more on this in the days and weeks ahead, especially in light of what's currently happening with the "trumped"-up charges (bad pun alert) against the GOP frontrunner's campaign manager. For now, we'll simply close with the following from Republican pollster Frank Luntz:
Republican pollster @FrankLuntz says anger levels are so high that someone could be killed at a Donald Trump rally. pic.twitter.com/Wcp6fNEn7z
— BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) March 30, 2016