A student at Ohio State University was arrested Monday night for violently tackling a protester delivering a speech against Donald Trump.
Shane Michael Stanton was charged with misdemeanor assault and placed on indefinite suspension, according to court documents obtained by the Washington Post and reports from The Lantern, the school’s official newspaper.
Timothy Adams, the anti-Trump protester identified by the Lantern, had his bullhorn and glasses broken during the altercation and injured his left hand, according to court records.
Video of the incident shows Stanton charging down a flight of stairs toward Adams as he addressed a small group gathered in the student union. Stanton screamed “You idiot!” before barreling into Adams, knocking him down several steps face-first.
Protesters surrounded Stanton and some appeared to hit him, while others tried to intervene. Police quickly arrived and removed Stanton from the premises, as protesters chanted, “Shame! Shame!”
The Lantern reported that Adams, who was on campus for a rally organized by the Columbus branch of the Socialist Alternative, stood up shortly after Stanton was escorted from the building and said, “Can I finish my speech now?”
After his address, Adams told the student newspaper that the incident proved to him that “coming together is the only thing that’s going to stop any kind of violence.”
“I think, if anything, tonight shows that we really need to bring people into social movements, bring people into social organizations and to come out for each other and stand up for each other,” he said.
Adams told CNN that he is an Ohio State alumnus who graduated in 2014.
Protests against Trump have cropped up in cities across the U.S. since Election Day, and dozens of incidents of minorities, LGBTQ people, and Muslims being harassed have been documented. Trump supporters have also reported attacks from critics of the President-elect.
