A newspaper columnist at a rally Sunday night for Donald Trump said he threatened with arrest if he didn’t leave the Palm Beach County, Florida, park where the presidential hopeful was speaking to supporters.
Mike Mayo of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel was among the roughly 6,000 attendees at a campaign event for Mr. Trump at Burt Aaronson South County Regional Park, but left early after organizers had law enforcement officials threaten him with arrest.
In a video clip recorded from outside the venue, Mr. Mayo said he had been “kicked out of the Donald Trump rally tonight for the offense of filming people leaving early.”
“My choices were leaving or going to jail. I did the prudent thing and left early,” Mr. Mayo said.
The columnist had arrived several hours before Mr. Trump took the stage and had been posting updates to his personal Twitter account when he was allegedly approached by organizers.
The Sun-Sentinel reported that Mr. Mayo was told to leave by organizers “after the Trump campaign realized he was sending tweets and recording video outside the media area.” Moments later he recorded footage as a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s officer told him to either leave the event or risk arrest.
“It is not a public park. Tonight it is rented by the Donald Trump campaign, and they are the ones who say you can come and go,” the officer fires back.
“So my options are either going now or what?” Mr. Mayo is heard asking the officer.
“At this point? Going out or going to jail,” the officer responded.
From outside the event after, the columnist expressed his disbelief after being told he couldn’t report on the event.
“Is this really America?” While all other people who came here as citizens of their own with tickets just like me were able to film freely and take photos in the crowd, I was told that I was not allowed to.”
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office told WPTV News that no one was arrested at Sunday night’s rally, although four were asked to leave.
The incident comes in the wake of a series of run-ins involving press members covering the Trump campaign, notably a reporter with conservative news site Breitbart claiming she was assaulted by Mr. Trump’s campaign manager during an event for the candidate in Jupiter, Florida.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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