Five North Carolina Sheriff deputies have been disciplined for their response to an outburst of violence at a Donald Trump rally in Fayetteville.
During the campaign rally last week, Trump supporter John McGraw punched a black protestor in the face. Videos of the incident, which later circulated widely online, show deputies pushing the protestor rather than the assailant to the ground.
Three of the deputies have been demoted and suspended without pay for five days, while the other two will just receive a three-day suspension, according to Reuters.
“The actions of the deputies and their failures to act in situations such as that which occurred during the Trump rally at the Crown Coliseum have never been and will not ever be tolerated under the policies of this office,” Sheriff Earl “Moose” Butler said in a statement.
The North Carolina incident isn’t the only violence that’s cropped up at Trump campaign events. Rallies in Chicago and Kansas City have resulted in chaos and violence, and Michelle Fields, a reporter for the right-wing site Breitbart, says that she was grabbed by a Trump staffer last week.
Trump has denied any violence occurring at his rallies, instead describing his campaign events as “love fests.”