Three protestors are suing Donald Trump, a white supremacist, and a Korean war veteran after they were violently assaulted during a Trump rally in Louisville, KY.
The protestors state that they were peacefully protesting during the Louisville rally when, after calls by Trump to throw them out, they were violently moved out of the stadium. They are claiming Trump fostered an environment of violence which caused the two Trump supporters to push and shove on the protestors.
The suit states that a leader with the white supremacist Traditionalist Youth Network, Matthew Heimbach, assaulted two protestors. It also says, Alvin Bamberger, a 75-year-old wearing a uniform associated with the Korean War Veterans Association, shoved one of the protestors as she was leaving the rally. The third plaintiff claims that an unknown assailant associated with the Traditionalist Youth Network punched him in the stomach.
The suit claims that after Trump’s fifth comment during the rally encouraging his supporters to kick the protestors out, a group of supporters rushed at the group. All three plaintiffs filed charges through the Louisville police department, however, criminal charges have yet to be filed.
Bamberger, one of the assailants, later went on record apologizing for his role in the assault in a letter to the veteran’s association.
“Trump kept saying ‘get them out, get them out’ and people in the crowd began pushing and shoving the protestors. I physically pushed a young woman down the aisle toward the exit, an action I sincerely regret.”
This is not the first time Trump has come under fire for his violent comments about protestors.
During his Las Vegas rally, Trump is quoted as saying:
“I love the old days. You know what they used to do to guys like that when they were in a place like this? They’d be carried out on a stretcher, folks.”
Trump has also told his supporters that he would pay for their legal fees.
The pattern of violence by Trump’s supporters and staff has continued to create problems for his campaign. The suit cites two other rallies where violence occurred. In North Carolina, a protestor was sucker punched by a Trump supporter, and in Arizona, a man was charged with assault after punching and kicking a protestor who was being led away from the rally.
Trump’s own campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, was charged with assault after allegedly grabbing the wrist of former Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields after a Florida rally.
WATCH the video of the violence in Louisville:
Read the entire lawsuit here.
Featured image via Flikr by Gage Skidmore available under a Creative Commons license.
