--- title: Donald Trump Rally: Protester Tries to Storm Stage description: A protester apparently attempted to storm the stage at Donald Trump's campaign rally outside of Dayton, Ohio on Saturday canonical: https://time.com/4256622/donald-trump-dayton-ohio-protesters-campaign-rally-storm-stage/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-03-12T17:26:09.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-05T08:49:41.770Z article:section: Politics og:title: Protester Tries to Storm Stage at Donald Trump Rally og:description: 'We’ve got to fight back' against protesters, Trump said og:url: https://time.com/4256622/donald-trump-dayton-ohio-protesters-campaign-rally-storm-stage/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteb89939d9b8a0d4e/69888ac1e20a879d7ca8ff0a/trump10.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3674 og:image:height: 2067 og:image:alt: Donald Trump og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Protester Tries to Storm Stage at Donald Trump Rally twitter:description: 'We’ve got to fight back' against protesters, Trump said twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteb89939d9b8a0d4e/69888ac1e20a879d7ca8ff0a/trump10.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 02:31 video:published: 2016-03-12 section: politics topics: rally disruption, stage rush, protest, First Amendment rights, campaign supporters, professionally printed posters, political violence claims, fighting back genre: speech, news clip tones: combative, defensive, indignant, emphatic emotions: anger (high), indignation (high), pride (medium), defiance (medium) sentiment: negative audience: political news readers, voters, campaign followers, free speech advocates people: Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders content_suitability: politics [00:00-01:37]; violence [00:42-01:37]; hate [00:12-00:14] transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # Protester Tries to Storm Stage at Donald Trump Rally > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=7357ef8e-cfb2-4530-bbc5-3c05ae0e53cc&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: TIME Raw: Watch Protester Rush Trump On-Stage [Watch (HLS stream): TIME Raw: Watch Protester Rush Trump On-Stage](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/oJKYTV43.m3u8) (2:31)  _Published 2016-03-12_ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary A TIME Raw clip shows a speaker describing an incident at a rally in which a protester rushed the stage. He says attendees were taunted and harassed by other people, some of whom he says represented Bernie Sanders, and he claims the posters used were professionally printed. He argues that First Amendment rights must be protected and that supporters must fight back against organized, staged disruptions. ## Key points - The speaker says thousands of people came to the event, were invited, and caused no problem. (00:00) - He says attendees were taunted and harassed by other people, some of whom he says represented Bernie Sanders. (00:06) - He urges Bernie Sanders to get up and tell his people to stop. (00:14) - He says the speaker's own supporters are nice and that these were people who want to make America great again. (00:28) - He describes a planned attack that came out of nowhere while people were pouring into the arena. (00:42) - He claims the posters used were printed, carry a mark identifying who made them, and were made by a group. (00:52) - He says the First Amendment rights to speak must not be taken away. (01:02) - He says that when organized, professionally staged disruptors appear, supporters must fight back. (01:30) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:14] Account of people who attended. The speaker says attendees were invited, peaceful, and were taunted and harassed by others, some linked to Bernie Sanders. - [00:14 to 00:28] Call for Sanders to intervene. The speaker asks Bernie Sanders to tell his people to stop and says his own supporters are nice. - [00:28 to 00:42] Describing the arena disruption. The speaker describes people pouring into the arena before a planned attack suddenly occurred. - [00:42 to 01:02] Claims about professionally printed posters. The speaker says the posters were professionally printed by a group and calls this a disgrace. - [01:02 to 02:31] Defending First Amendment rights. The speaker argues that free speech rights must be protected and that supporters must fight back against organized disruptors. ## Key quotes - [00:06] speaker: "They caused no problem. They were taunted. They were harassed by these other people." - [00:14] speaker: "So he should really get up and say to his people, stop." - [00:42] speaker: "and all of a sudden, a planned attack just came out of nowhere" - [00:52] speaker: "If you look at the posters, they're all printed, they have a mark on them who made them." - [01:02] speaker: "We cannot let our first amendment." - [01:37] speaker: "We've got to fight back." ## Questions this video answers - What did the speaker say happened to the people who attended the event? [00:00] - Who does the speaker say some of the disruptive people represented? [00:12] - What does the speaker say he wants Bernie Sanders to do? [00:14] - What does the speaker claim about the posters used at the event? [00:52] - Why does the speaker say First Amendment rights are at stake? [01:02] - What course of action does the speaker urge when organized disruptors appear? [01:30] ## Content suitability - politics [00:00-01:37]: Partisan political speech about a campaign rally and its supporters and opponents. - violence [00:42-01:37]: The speaker describes a planned attack and calls for fighting back against disruptors. - hate [00:12-00:14]: The speaker labels a political opponent as a communist friend and attacks opposing supporters as wise guys. by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) and [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/) Mar 12, 2016 5:26 PM UTC by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) and [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/) Mar 12, 2016 5:26 PM UTC A protester appeared to attempt to storm the stage at Donald Trump’s campaign rally outside of Dayton, Ohio on Saturday, one of a number of escalating protests during the event and [a continuation of the turmoil](http://time.com/4256550/donald-trump-blames-thugs-cancelled-chicago-rally/?xid=homepage) that marked Trump’s [cancelled rally in Chicago on Friday.](http://time.com/4256529/donald-trump-chicago-rally-protest-cancel/?xid=homepage) Agents from the U.S. Secret Service briefly jumped to the stage to surround a seemingly rattled Trump. “I was ready for him, but it’s much easier if the cops do it,” Trump said when returning to the microphone, The event comes a day after [Trump cancelled a rally in Chicago](http://time.com/4256550/donald-trump-blames-thugs-cancelled-chicago-rally/?xid=homepage), citing security concerns, as fights broke out between protesters and supporters at the venue. “If there’s a group out there, just throw them the hell out,” Trump said when his rally in an airport hangar was interrupted for the first time by a protest. [https://twitter.com/nickpistor/status/708696675460653056“We’ve](https://twitter.com/nickpistor/status/708696675460653056“We’ve) got to fight back, we’ve got to fight back,” he said. Discussing Friday night’s cancelled rally in Chicago, Trump maintained that his supporters were peaceful. “My people were nice, the people that came there were so nice,” he said. “They caused no problem. They were taunted, they were harassed by these others.” “All of the sudden a planned attack just came out of nowhere,” Trump added. Earlier on Saturday, Trump tweeted that “thugs” [were to blame](http://time.com/4256550/donald-trump-blames-thugs-cancelled-chicago-rally/?xid=homepage) for the violence in Chicago. Trump said some of the protestors “represented Bernie \[Sanders\], our communist friend,” referencing that some were carrying signs supporting the Democratic contender. Trump is scheduled to hold two more events Saturday in Cleveland, Ohio, and Kansas City, Mo. ## Transcript [00:00] The people that were there, that came there, that were [00:03] invited there, thousands and thousands of people. [00:06] They caused no problem. They were taunted. They [00:09] were harassed by these other people. These other [00:12] people, by the way, some represented Bernie, our [00:14] communist friend. With Bernie, so he should really get [00:17] up and say to his people, stop. Stop, not [00:22] me, stop. They said, Mr. Trump should get up and, [00:25] this morning, tell his people to be nice. My people are [00:28] nice, folks. But what happened, it was very interesting. [00:31] So what happened, and these were great people. [00:33] These are people like yourselves. These were people [00:35] that want to make America great again. That's all it is, [00:39] [ APPLAUSE ] it's very simple. [ APPLAUSE ] And they [00:42] were pouring into the arena, good arena, everything [00:44] nice, and all of a sudden, a planned attack just came [00:48] out of nowhere, printed by people that were [00:52] professional people. If you look at the posters, they're [00:55] all printed, they have a mark on them who made them. [00:58] All done by a group. All very, very professional done. A [01:02] disgrace if you want to know the truth. We cannot let [01:06] our first amendment. We just can't. We can't let our [01:11] first amendment rights be taken away from us folks. [01:14] We can't let it happen. We [01:18] have a right to speak. I mean we are law- abiding [01:21] people. We're people that work very hard. We're [01:24] people who built this country and made this country [01:26] great, And we're all together. And we want to get along [01:30] with everybody. But when they have organized [01:33] professionally staged wise guys we've got to fight back. [01:37] We've got to fight back. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4256622/donald-trump-dayton-ohio-protesters-campaign-rally-storm-stage/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4256622/donald-trump-dayton-ohio-protesters-campaign-rally-storm-stage/"},"headline":"Protester Tries to Storm Stage at Donald Trump Rally","datePublished":"2016-03-12T17:26:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-05T08:49:41.770Z","description":"'We’ve got to fight back' against protesters, Trump said","url":"https://time.com/4256622/donald-trump-dayton-ohio-protesters-campaign-rally-storm-stage/","keywords":["Donald Trump"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteb89939d9b8a0d4e/69888ac1e20a879d7ca8ff0a/trump10.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Zeke Miller","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteb89939d9b8a0d4e/69888ac1e20a879d7ca8ff0a/trump10.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Donald Trump","caption":"Donald Trump","creditText":"Kiichiro Sato—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/donald-trump/","name":"Donald Trump"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4256622/donald-trump-dayton-ohio-protesters-campaign-rally-storm-stage/","name":"Protester Tries to Storm Stage at Donald Trump Rally"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"TIME Raw: Watch Protester Rush Trump On-Stage","description":"","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/oJKYTV43/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-03-12T17:58:41.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/oJKYTV43.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4256622/donald-trump-dayton-ohio-protesters-campaign-rally-storm-stage/","duration":"PT2M31S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4256622/donald-trump-dayton-ohio-protesters-campaign-rally-storm-stage/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```