Authorities in North Carolina are considering filing a charge of inciting a riot against Republican frontrunner Donald Trump after violence at his rally in Fayetteville erupted last week.
John McGraw, 78, came out of the crowd to sucker-punch a black protester, and was later arrested and charged with assault, battery, and disorderly conduct. McGraw later threatened to kill the protester.
Prior to the attack, Trump asked the audience: “Can’t we have a little more action than this?” in response to protesters. “See, in the good old days this didn’t use to happen, because they used to treat them very rough. We’ve become very weak,” he added.
The lawyer for the Cumberland County Sheriff’s office told the Fayetteville Observer that an investigation into a possible charge against Trump is underway.
“We are looking at the totality of these circumstances, including any additional charges against Mr. McGraw, including the potential of whether there was conduct on the part of Mr. Trump or the Trump campaign which rose to the level of inciting a riot,” Ronnie Mitchell said.
Katy Tur of NBC later confirmed that investigators are considering filing the “inciting a riot” charge.
