--- title: Ben Carson Says Violence Could Escalate at Trump Rallies description: Former Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson said there is a “real possibility” violence will escalate at Donald Trump rallies. canonical: https://time.com/4257386/ben-carson-donald-trump-violence/ author: Melissa Chan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-03-14T12:25:28.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T09:21:44.340Z article:section: Politics og:title: Ben Carson Says Violence Could Escalate at Donald Trump Rallies og:description: "There is a real possibility of escalation" og:url: https://time.com/4257386/ben-carson-donald-trump-violence/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt08b17d297b180613/69888ad30a4a226d6e9c8cad/ben-carson-donald-trump-violence.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: ben-carson-donald-trump-violence og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ben Carson Says Violence Could Escalate at Donald Trump Rallies twitter:description: "There is a real possibility of escalation" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt08b17d297b180613/69888ad30a4a226d6e9c8cad/ben-carson-donald-trump-violence.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Ben Carson Says Violence Could Escalate at Donald Trump Rallies  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Mar 14, 2016 12:25 PM UTC  Former Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson gives his endorsement to Donald Trump during a press conference on March 11, 2016 in Palm Beach, Florida. Former Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson gives his endorsement to Donald Trump during a press conference on March 11, 2016 in Palm Beach, Florida.Joe Raedle—2016 Getty Images  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Mar 14, 2016 12:25 PM UTC Former Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson said Monday [there is a “real possibility” that violence will escalate](http://www.today.com/news/ben-carson-there-s-real-possibility-trump-rally-violence-will-t79826) at Donald Trump rallies. The retired neurosurgeon, who has endorsed Trump after dropping out of the race himself, weighed in on [heightened tensions plaguing Trump’s campaign rallies and events](http://time.com/4256684/donald-trump-protests-help/?xid=homepage) during an appearance on NBC’s _Today_ show. “I think, certainly, if the protesters continue with their Alinksy-ite tactics, there is a real possibility of escalation, because those who are the victims of them have two choices: They can submit to them and meekly just do whatever those protesters want them to do, or they can fight back,” Carson said. “And if they decide to fight back, there could be an escalation.” Carson’s comments come after a Trump supporter was charged with assault after he allegedly sucker-punched a protester in the face during a rally in North Carolina last week. The billionaire businessman also had to [cancel a rally in Chicago over the weekend](http://time.com/4256550/donald-trump-blames-thugs-cancelled-chicago-rally/) after fights broke out between his supporters and protesters. “The problem is that there are those who are being taught that if someone disagrees with you, you have the right to interfere with their First Amendment rights, their ability to express themselves, their freedom of speech,” Carson said Monday. “That’s where the emphasis needs to be.” “I think that this is a wonderful opportunity for Mr. Trump, for Bernie Sanders, for \[Hillary\] Clinton, for the other Republicans, to really stand up and to start talking to people about what First Amendment rights are, why they are so important as a part of the foundation of our country,” he added. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4257386/ben-carson-donald-trump-violence/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4257386/ben-carson-donald-trump-violence/"},"headline":"Ben Carson Says Violence Could Escalate at Donald Trump Rallies","datePublished":"2016-03-14T12:25:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T09:21:44.340Z","description":"\"There is a real possibility of escalation\"","url":"https://time.com/4257386/ben-carson-donald-trump-violence/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt08b17d297b180613/69888ad30a4a226d6e9c8cad/ben-carson-donald-trump-violence.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt08b17d297b180613/69888ad30a4a226d6e9c8cad/ben-carson-donald-trump-violence.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"ben-carson-donald-trump-violence","caption":"PALM BEACH, FL - MARCH 11: Former Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson gives his endorsement to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during a press conference at the Mar-A-Lago Club on March 11, 2016 in Palm Beach, Florida. 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