The Donald is rushed off the stage by Secret Service while speaking during Reno rally after a 'Republicans against Trump' protester causes chaos in the crowd over fears he had a gun
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Secret Service agents rushed Donald Trump offstage on Saturday evening during a rally in Reno, Nevada after they determined a protester in the audience might pose a threat to the Republican presidential candidate.
'Go! Go!' agents shouted as they whisked Trump away and a combination of local police and private security wrestled Austyn Crites, 33, to the ground in the front of the crowd.
Crites identifies as a Republican who supports Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, according to his Facebook page.
A senior Trump campaign official told DailyMail.com that the suspect, whom rally-goers already identified as an anti-Trump protester, caused a panic when he reached into his waistband.
At that point, the campaign official said, a voice called out: 'He's got a gun!'
Trump's protective detail sprang into action, pulling him offstage as a sea of bodies scattered, screams rang out and authorities dragged Crites away as he kicked and strained.
The U.S. Secret Service said in a statement that 'a commotion' had occurred 'in the crowd immediately in front of the stage' and 'an unidentified individual shouted, "gun".'
'Secret Service agents and Reno police officers immediately apprehended the subject.
Upon a thorough search of the subject and the surrounding area, no weapon was found,' the statement added.
Authorities never confirmed early reports that Crites or any civilians at the rally had a firearm.
One witness told DailyMail.com that a holstered gun was spotted on the hip of a plainclothes officer, adding to the confusion.
Just before the fracas, Trump could be seen shielding his eyes from the lights in order to peer into the crowd as a struggle broke out.
Three agents then stormed the stage and hustled the Republican presidential candidate away.
Crites, who has since been released, appeared on local newscasts saying he had merely been holding a sign that read 'Republicans Against Trump.'
When he reached into his waistband, however, police and good Samaritans took the man down.
The crowd surged backward in fright and strained against metal barriers enclosing the press section.
'CNN sucks!' one man yelled. 'You people caused this!'
Federal agents and tactical officers from Reno Police removed the man from the rally on Saturday. He has since been identified as 33-year-old Austyn Crites
At this time a motive is not clear. Authorities placed the man in a bathroom near a secure entrance where Trump's motorcade and the press vehicles were staged
Austyn Crites, 33, (pictured) was detained by Secret Service after trying to raise a flag that read 'Republicans Against Trump' when someone yelled 'gun' causing a panic during the rally
Witness Donald Newton, 45, of California who was in the crowd at the time, said he was next to Crites, who he said was holding a sign and started heading toward the stage.
'He had something on his belly. I don't know what it was,' Newton told the Reno Gazette-Journal.
'Somebody yelled "gun" and everyone jumped on him. My friend put his knee on his head, but he kept getting up.'
Federal agents and tactical officers from Reno Police removed Crites and placed him in a bathroom near a secure entrance where Trump's motorcade and the press vehicles were staged.
SWAT officers with high-powered rifles guarded the entrance to the restroom while reporters milled outside.
Television footage showed the white male suspect pinioned on the ground by officers and searched, before he was led away from the convention center.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3909514/Donald-Trump-rushed-away-Secret-Service-speaking-Reno-rally.html#ixzz4PCpXuyvJ
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