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---
title: Deputies Suspended for &#x27;Failures to Act&#x27; During Trump Rally
description: Five sheriff&#x27;s deputies in North Carolina have been suspended after &quot;failures to act&quot; to prevent at a violent Trump rally.
canonical: https://time.com/4262198/north-carolina-deputies-suspended-for-failures-to-act-during-trump-rally-violence/
author: Daniel White
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article:content_tier: free
article:published_time: 2016-03-17T00:31:09.000Z
article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:46:22.302Z
article:section: Politics
og:title: N.C. Deputies Suspended for &#x27;Failures to Act&#x27; During Trump Rally Violence
og:description: A Trump supporter punched an anti-Trump protester at a March rally
og:url: https://time.com/4262198/north-carolina-deputies-suspended-for-failures-to-act-during-trump-rally-violence/
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twitter:title: N.C. Deputies Suspended for &#x27;Failures to Act&#x27; During Trump Rally Violence
twitter:description: A Trump supporter punched an anti-Trump protester at a March rally
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# North Carolina Deputies Suspended for 'Failures to Act' During Trump Rally Violence

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by 

[Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/)


## Daniel White


Mar 17, 2016 12:31 AM UTC

![Donald Trump holds a plane-side rally at Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport in Vienna, Ohio on March 14, 2016.](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6e3dd64344eba57f/69888b1b2dce0181709e8336/donald-trump-ohio.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=3:2)

Donald Trump holds a plane-side rally at Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport in Vienna, Ohio on March 14, 2016.

Donald Trump holds a plane-side rally at Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport in Vienna, Ohio on March 14, 2016. Gene J. Puskar—AP

by 

[Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/)


## Daniel White


Mar 17, 2016 12:31 AM UTC

A group of sheriff’s deputies in North Carolina [have been suspended](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/03/16/deputies-suspended-following-failures-to-act-at-trump-rally-in-north-carolina/?tid=sm%5Ftw) after a Donald Trump rally where a protester was [punched after being escorted out.](http://time.com/4253898/donald-trump-protester-north-carolina-rally-punched/)

The Cumberland County Sheriff office announced Wednesday that the five deputies would be suspended without pay after a video showed their “failures to act” while a Trump supporter assaulted an anti-Trump protester on March 9, according to the Washington _Post_.

“The actions of the deputies and their failures to act in situations such as that which occurred during the Trump rally at the Crown Coliseum have never been and will not ever be tolerated under the policies of this office,” Sheriff Earl Butler [wrote in a statement](https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story%5Ffbid=10153378267475952&id=297216125951).

The protester, identified as Rakeem Jones, was being escorted out of the arena when a man punched him in the face. The assailant, John Franklin McGraw, 78, was charged with assault and disorderly conduct, according to the _Post_.

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