HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A man arrested last week at a rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Pennsylvania hoped to hang a flag to protest Trump’s policies, Johnstown’s police chief said Tuesday.
Stephen A. Weiss, 36, of Pittsburgh, who was arrested at Friday’s Trump rally, has been charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, authorities said.
Johnstown Police Chief Richard Pritchard said investigators don’t know what the banner said because it was apparently discarded by arena staff. He said it was made out of sheets and that Weiss told the detective that she doesn’t believe in Trump’s policies.
Pritchard said Weiss faked a leg injury and hid a tube of glue inside a metal rod.
Weiss declined to comment when reached by phone Tuesday, saying he was seeking legal advice.
An arrest affidavit from a Johnstown police detective said Weiss ran to the arena floor, jumped onto the media stage (and) began yelling at the main stage where President Trump was speaking. Weiss allegedly would not free herself from the steel barricade fences, “and force had to be used,” police said in a charging document.
A man who accompanied Weiss to the rally told police he was unaware of Weiss’ plan, Pritchard said. The other man was not charged, the chief said.
Weiss was also charged with disturbing a public meeting, a misdemeanor. Weiss was questioned by the Secret Service on Friday and released later that evening. He has a court hearing on October 9.
A spokesperson for Trump’s campaign did not immediately comment on the matter on Tuesday.
The disruption came shortly after Trump criticized major media outlets for what he said was negative coverage.
As Weiss was led away, the former president told the crowd, “Is there anything more fun to be at than a Trump rally?”
Security at Trump’s rallies has come under increased scrutiny since a gunman shot him in the ear at an outdoor rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July. Since then, the security of political events has been significantly tightened.
