A raging Trump supporter wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat attacked a cameraman from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) during the president’s rally in El Paso last night.
The cameraman, Ron Skeans, was recording video of President Donald Trump speaking about immigration when he was knocked off balance by a man in the crowd, who can be seen moments later being restrained by another man wearing a red MAGA hat.
Gary O’Donoghue, the Washington correspondent for the broadcaster, described the attack on his cameraman as “incredibly violent.”
O’Donoghue shared footage of the “shameful moment” on Twitter:
“This is the shameful moment when my cameraman Ron Skeans was attacked by @realdDonaldTrump supporter in El Paso – after the President repeatedly goaded the crowd over supposed media bias. Happily Ron is fine”
This is the shameful moment when my cameraman Ron Skeans was attacked by @realdDonaldTrump supporter in El Paso – after the President repeatedly goaded the crowd over supposed media bias. Happily Ron is fine #TrumpElPaso pic.twitter.com/F3pv04fRBg
— Gary O'Donoghue (@BBCBlindGazza) February 12, 2019
The alleged assailant screams “f*ck the media” as he’s pulled away from Skeans, and the crowd begins to chant “let him go” as they become aware of the disturbance.
Skeans later told the BBC that the man, who has not been identified, shoved him hard from his blind side, and the cameraman was not sure what had happened at first.
BBC Washington editor Eleanor Montague, who was at the event with Skeans, tweeted out footage of the incident, which she blamed on the president’s hostile rhetoric.
“The crowd had been whipped up into a frenzy against the media by Trump and other speakers all night,” Montague tweeted.
“Just attended my first @realDonaldTrump rally where my colleague BBC cameraman Rob Skeans was attacked by a Trump supporter. The crowd had been whipped up into a frenzy against the media by Trump and other speakers all night”
She later tweeted:
“To all those who asked after the cameraman – Ron is fine . Thanks for asking.”
To all those who asked after the cameraman – Ron is fine . Thanks for asking # pic.twitter.com/JB7Tq21DX6
— Eleanor Montague (@EleanorMontague) February 12, 2019
“The president could see the incident and checked with us that all was okay,” the BBC said in a statement. “It is clearly unacceptable for any of our staff to be attacked for doing their job.”
Although this was Trump’s first rally of 2019, he is sadly continuing his attacks on the media that have led to violent incidents in the past. Journalists have died because of Trump’s violent rhetoric, and he must stop before more people get killed.
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