A North Carolina sheriff’s office said Wednesday that five deputies have been disciplined as a result of their actions during a rally for GOP front-runner Donald Trump a week earlier in which a protester was detained after being sucker punched by another attendee.
Cumberland County Sheriff Earl “Moose” Butler said in a statement that his office has suspended five deputies who were involved in an widely-reported incident at Mr. Trump’s event in Fayetteville last Wednesday.
Several audience members were recording video as a protester, Rakeem Jones, was assaulted by an attendee as he was being escorted by authorities out of the Crown Coliseum where thousands had gathered to witness Mr. Trump speak.
Video footage shows that sheriff’s deputies pinned Mr. Jones to the ground and placed him in handcuffs after he was hit in the face by a member of the crowd.
The suspect, 78-year-old John McGraw, walked away unscathed and soon after gave an on-camera interview in which he bragged about the assault and threatened further violence against the protester.
“You bet I liked it. Knocking the hell out of that big mouth,” Mr. McGraw told the TV show “Inside Edition” in footage from Wednesday’s rally.
“The next time we see him, we might have to kill him. We don’t know who he is. He might be with a terrorist organization,” he said.
On Wednesday, Sheriff Butler said: “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.”
Three of the deputies involved have been demoted in rank and suspended for five days without pay for “unsatisfactory performance and failing to discharge the duties and policies” of the department, Sheriff Butler said. Two others were suspended for three days without pay, he added, and all five have been reprimanded and placed in a probationary status for the next year.
“I applaud the Sheriff’s Department for their work and finding the deputies responsible,” Mr. Jones, the protester, told local news station WRAL.
Mr. McGraw was arrested last Thursday on charges of assault and disorderly conduct after authorities reviewed video footage captured by attendees who witnessed the altercation.
“We regret that any of the circumstances at the Trump rally occurred, and we regret that we have had to investigate all of these matters. Yet, it is our duty and responsibility to do justice, and to carefully examine not only the actions of others, but our own actions to ensure that the law and our policies are justly and fairly enforced based in principle and without other influences,” Sheriff Butler said at the time.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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