5 deputies punished for failing to act after a protester was allegedly assaulted at a Trump rally
(AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
Protesters are removed as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Fayetteville, N.C., Wednesday, March 9, 2016.
Five sheriff's deputies in Cumberland County, North Carolina have been disciplined for their involvement in an apparent assault on a protester at a campaign rally for Donald Trump.
Three deputies have been demoted and suspended for five days without pay, according to a statement the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office released Wednesday.
The demoted deputies were dinged for "unsatisfactory performance" and for failing to respond to "apparent criminal activity" tied to the assault at the Trump rally on March 9.
The other two deputies were suspended for three days without pay. All five will be placed on "probationary status," for the next 12 months, the department said.
The incident involves Rakeem Jones — one of several protesters escorted out of the Trump rally at Crown Coliseum last week — and an attendee at the event, plus the five deputies.
Multiple videos show Jones being targeted by the attendee, who was identified as John McGraw in the criminal charges filed against him last week. In footage of the incident, McGraw is seen moving down an aisle of seats and punching Jones in the face, in front of police.
Deputies appear to take Jones to the ground in the chaos that followed, as McGraw stands by.
Ronnie Mitchell, a lawyer for the Cumberland County Sheriff, says the deputies who were disciplined are "connected with the Rakeem Jones incident, the McGraw assault and the conduct that investigation revealed."
In the statement, Sheriff Moose Butler said the deputies' "failure to act" in situations like the one that happened at the Trump rally "will not ever be tolerated."
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