--- title: Deputies Suspended for 'Failures to Act' During Trump Rally description: Five sheriff's deputies in North Carolina have been suspended after "failures to act" 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 article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-03-17T00:31:09.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T15:58:23.657Z article:section: Politics og:title: N.C. Deputies Suspended for 'Failures to Act' 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/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6e3dd64344eba57f/69888b1b2dce0181709e8336/donald-trump-ohio.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Donald Trump og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: N.C. Deputies Suspended for 'Failures to Act' During Trump Rally Violence twitter:description: A Trump supporter punched an anti-Trump protester at a March rally twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6e3dd64344eba57f/69888b1b2dce0181709e8336/donald-trump-ohio.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # North Carolina Deputies Suspended for 'Failures to Act' During Trump Rally Violence 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. 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_. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4262198/north-carolina-deputies-suspended-for-failures-to-act-during-trump-rally-violence/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4262198/north-carolina-deputies-suspended-for-failures-to-act-during-trump-rally-violence/"},"headline":"North Carolina Deputies Suspended for 'Failures to Act' During Trump Rally Violence","datePublished":"2016-03-17T00:31:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T15:58:23.657Z","description":"A Trump supporter punched an anti-Trump protester at a March rally","url":"https://time.com/4262198/north-carolina-deputies-suspended-for-failures-to-act-during-trump-rally-violence/","keywords":["Donald Trump","2016 Election topic","North Carolina"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6e3dd64344eba57f/69888b1b2dce0181709e8336/donald-trump-ohio.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel White","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/daniel-white/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6e3dd64344eba57f/69888b1b2dce0181709e8336/donald-trump-ohio.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Donald Trump","caption":"Donald Trump holds a plane-side rally at Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport in Vienna, Ohio on March 14, 2016.","creditText":"Gene J. 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