This post has been updated.
A protester was removed from a Donald Trump rally in Las Vegas on Monday night, prompting some of the Republican presidential candidate’s supporters to yell racial slurs and call for the protester to be lit on fire, according to a report from Buzzfeed News.
Toward the beginning of his speech at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort, Trump brought a supporter on stage whose son was shot and killed by an undocumented immigrant gang member, according to Yahoo News. The supporter, Jamiel Shaw, said that Americans “need Trump.”
While Shaw was on stage, protester Ender Austin III yelled and called for gun control, he told Yahoo News.
Austin, a Black Lives Matter supporter who attended the rally with a group called Unity Vegas, was then removed from the event by security. A video captured by Buzzfeed News reporter McKay Coppins shows Austin being detained by event security.
A Trump supporter can be heard yelling, “Light the motherfucker on fire!”
And about ten minutes into the Trump rally, this happens. pic.twitter.com/65pXHjsJ3x
— McKay Coppins (@mckaycoppins) December 15, 2015
Another rally attendee yelled “Sieg heil,” a Nazi salute, as Austin was taken out of the rally, according to NBC News.
Austin told Buzzfeed News that he was not verbally asked to leave before security guards physically removed him from the rally.
“They immediately used physical force,” he said. “I absolutely was being disruptive, but as I was making statements I felt hands grabbing on me.”
“What concerns me is that people were yelling racial epithets and hateful things,” Austin added. “I heard the N-word a couple of times.”
He also told Yahoo News that he heard shouts of “Hail Trump.”
Austin said he was was handcuffed by police but not arrested.
Other protesters at the rally were also physically removed from the event, as video captured by Koppins shows.
This is the 5th or 6th scuffle to break out at Trump rally between activists and security (w/ Trump fans cheering) pic.twitter.com/sxL2OnZg2g
— McKay Coppins (@mckaycoppins) December 15, 2015
Koppins noted that Trump joked about the protesters during the event.
Another rowdy protester forcefully dragged away. Trump jokes, “I staged that!” Says it’s only way to get press to turn and show crowd size.
— McKay Coppins (@mckaycoppins) December 15, 2015
Classy.
BTW: Isn’t that Kim Davis between tRump and his bodyguard?
I was just thinking that the supporters were starting to look more like Trump.
Playing on peoples fears and prejudices is such a tried and true political theme in American politics.
So much easier to protest Bernie Sanders, isn’t it? Of course there isn’t much point in protesting someone who is already on your side. And gee there are consequences when you protest, who’d have thought? Burning is over the line, but throwing them out doesn’t seem like quiet enough, maybe throw them in jail for a day or two?