Reading mode Exit reading mode

2016 Campaign Rally Violence: Incitement of Supporters to Attack Protesters

Trump's 2016 campaign rallies were sites of documented violence against protesters, directly preceded by Trump's explicit incitements from the stage. Trump offered to pay legal fees for supporters who assaulted protesters, described violence against protesters nostalgically, and encouraged crowds. Multiple protesters were punched, kicked, shoved, or sprayed with mace; in at least one case Trump faced civil liability for the conduct of his supporters. A federal appeals court allowed a lawsuit by injured protesters to proceed.

Record summary

Grade

Grade 2 of 5: Major Abuse of Power

Executive actions that exceed constitutional authority, circumvent statutory constraints, or weaponize government institutions for political ends. Scale and definitions

Status
Concluded
Incident date
Record updated
Location
Various U.S. campaign venues
Category
Civil Rights
Legal posture
Judicial finding
War-crime classification
Enabling conduct
Verification
Independently verified
ICC relevance
No
Sources
5 cited
Stable ID
trump-2016-campaign-rally-incitement
Victims
Protesters physically assaulted at Trump campaign rallies by attendees following Trump's incitement; documented cases include Rakeem Jones (punched), protesters at Louisville rally (shoved, grabbed)
Alleged responsible parties
  • Donald Trump, Presidential candidate; directly incited violence from the stage— Trump campaign

Key points

  • At a February 2016 rally in Las Vegas, Trump said of a protester: 'I'd like to punch him in the face, I'll tell ya.' The next day, a protester was sucker-punched at a North Carolina rally by an attendee; the attacker said 'next time we see him, we might have to kill him'
  • Trump said at multiple rallies that in 'the good old days' protesters would be 'carried out on a stretcher' — an explicit nostalgic reference to protesters being beaten
  • After the North Carolina sucker-punch, Trump said he was 'looking into' paying the attacker's legal fees: 'Our supporters are very passionate. They love this country. They want this country to be great again.'
  • At a March 2016 rally in St. Louis, Trump said 'Get him out of here. Try not to hurt him' — a statement that lawyers noted simultaneously encouraged removal and signaled awareness that hurt was possible
  • A federal appeals court ruled in 2017 that Trump could face civil liability for the Louisville rally assaults — finding that Trump's statements directing supporters to 'get 'em out of here' foreseeably caused violence against protesters who were shoved and grabbed
  • Beyond the rallies, Trump's campaign was characterized by explicit racial and ethnic targeting that created an environment in which hate crimes against Muslims, Latinos, and other minorities spiked in the weeks after his election

Overview

Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign rallies became sites of documented violence against protesters, preceded each time by explicit incitement from the stage. Trump did not merely fail to discourage violence — he nostalgically described historical violence against protesters, offered to fund legal defenses for attackers, and explicitly directed supporters to remove protesters in a context where removal meant physical force.

The conduct was documented, recorded, and litigated. A federal appeals court found that a jury could hold Trump civilly liable for the assaults at his Louisville rally.

The Incitements

Trump's statements about protest violence at his rallies were not ambiguous. He explicitly fantasized about punching protesters, described an era when protesters would leave on stretchers as the "good old days," and — after supporters physically attacked a protester who had already been escorted out — said he might pay their legal fees because his supporters were "very passionate."

The pattern was cumulative and deliberate. Rally after rally, the rhetoric escalated. The physical attacks escalated with it.

The Louisville Case

The most legally significant incident was the March 2016 Louisville rally, where three protesters — including one Black woman who was subjected to racial epithets as she was shoved and grabbed — sued Trump for civil damages. The federal district court dismissed the case, but the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and allowed the lawsuit to proceed, finding that Trump's repeated direction to "get 'em out of here" was made in a context where supporters were already using physical force, making the foreseeable result of the directive physical violence against the protesters.

The case was ultimately settled in 2019 after Trump's lawyers argued presidential immunity — an argument that foreshadowed the immunity claims Trump would make in criminal proceedings years later.

The Pattern and Its Consequences

Trump's campaign rhetoric about violence was part of a broader pattern. He described immigrants as rapists and criminals, called for bans on Muslim entry, and told crowds that protesters deserved what they got. In the weeks after his election, researchers documented a significant spike in hate crimes against Muslims, Latinos, and other minorities — in some cases by perpetrators who explicitly cited Trump's rhetoric as motivation.

International law engaged

InstrumentProvisionWhat it protects or prohibits
International Covenant on Civil and Political RightsArticle 20Any advocacy of national, racial, or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility, or violence shall be prohibited by law

Update log

  1. Updated with federal appeals court ruling on civil liability.

Sequence of events

  1. Boston assault — attackers cite Trump

    Two Boston brothers beat a homeless Latino man with a metal pipe, urinated on him, and cited Trump's immigration rhetoric as their justification, saying Trump was 'onto something.' Trump responds: 'The people that are following me are very passionate. They love this country and want this country to be great again.'

  2. 'I'd like to punch him in the face'

    At a rally in Las Vegas, Trump sees a protester being removed and says from the stage: 'I'd like to punch him in the face, I'll tell ya.' The comment draws applause and is widely covered as an unprecedented moment of a major presidential candidate explicitly threatening violence against a civilian.

  3. Protester sucker-punched at North Carolina rally

    At a rally in Fayetteville, NC, 78-year-old John McGraw sucker-punches protester Rakeem Jones in the face as Jones is being escorted out. Video captures the moment clearly. McGraw says afterward: 'Next time we see him, we might have to kill him.' He is charged with assault.

  4. Trump offers to pay attacker's legal fees

    Trump says he is 'looking into' paying McGraw's legal fees: 'He got a little carried away but it's not the end of the world.' He repeats the offer at a later rally, saying he would consider paying legal fees for supporters who attacked disruptors.

  5. Louisville rally — protesters shoved and grabbed

    At a Louisville, Kentucky, rally, protesters Kashiya Nwanguma, Molly Shah, and Henry Brousseau are shoved, grabbed, and subjected to racial epithets by Trump supporters after Trump repeatedly directs from the stage: 'Get 'em out of here.'

  6. Chicago rally cancelled — Trump hints at protesters deserving violence

    A Trump rally at the University of Illinois Chicago Pavilion is cancelled after large numbers of protesters inside threaten to disrupt it. Trump suggests the protesters had brought any violence on themselves.

  7. Federal court: Trump can be held liable for Louisville assaults

    The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals rules 2-1 that the Louisville protesters' lawsuit can proceed, finding that a jury could conclude Trump's direction to 'get 'em out of here' constituted incitement to imminent lawless action — the First Amendment standard for actionable incitement — because he used it in a context where attendees were already responding with physical force.

Sources

  1. Trump Suggests He'd Like to Punch Protester 'in the Face' — The New York Times
  2. Trump says he might pay legal fees for supporter who sucker-punched protester — CBS News
  3. Donald Trump's history of inciting violence at his rallies — Vox
  4. Court rules Trump can be held liable for inciting violence at Louisville rally — The Guardian
  5. Federal court rules lawsuit can proceed against Trump over rally violence — The Associated Press

How this record was published

Manually curated This entry was added directly and does not carry an automated audit trail.

About our editorial methodology →

Related records

Similar by category, grade and tags.

  • Grade 2 of 5: Major Abuse of Power

    Lafayette Square: Protesters Gassed for Bible Photo Op

    Tear gas, pepper spray, and mounted police were deployed against peaceful protesters who were within their legal rights to be in Lafayette Square until the 7 PM curfew. The clearing operation began approximately 30 minutes before the curfew. Once the square was cleared, Trump walked out of the White House to St. John's Church, stood in front of it holding a Bible, and had photographs taken. The Episcopal bishop whose church was used said she was 'outraged' and had not been notified. Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley later apologized for participating in the walk. Defense Secretary Esper publicly opposed using active-duty troops as Trump had suggested.

  • Grade 2 of 5: Major Abuse of Power

    Birtherism: Five-Year Campaign Claiming Obama Was Not Born in the United States

    Trump began promoting birtherism on television in 2011, claiming Obama was 'born in Kenya' and demanding proof of U.S. birth. When Obama released his birth certificate in April 2011, Trump claimed credit. He continued to make or amplify birther claims through 2012, 2013, 2014, and as late as August 2016. The birther movement was not factually novel — it was a conspiracy theory that had circulated in fringe circles — but Trump elevated it to mainstream political discourse. Scholars and civil rights groups documented that the theory's premise was inseparable from the claim that a Black man with the name Barack Hussein Obama could not legitimately be an American president.

  • Grade 2 of 5: Major Abuse of Power

    Birther Campaign: Five-Year Campaign Questioning Obama's U.S. Birth, Racist Delegitimization

    The birther conspiracy theory — the claim that Obama was born in Kenya or elsewhere outside the U.S. — had no factual basis. Hawaii state officials repeatedly confirmed the birth certificate's authenticity. Obama released both a short-form and long-form birth certificate. Federal courts dismissed challenges to Obama's eligibility. The theory persisted in certain quarters as a form of racial delegitimization of the first Black president. Trump became its most prominent mainstream advocate, using it to build his political profile before his 2016 presidential campaign. Trump's 2016 acknowledgment that Obama was born in the U.S. came without apology and included the false claim that Clinton had started the birther controversy.

  • Grade 2 of 5: Major Abuse of Power

    The Birther Campaign: Trump's Racist Attack on Obama's Legitimacy

    Trump spent five years as the most high-profile national birther — making repeated media appearances questioning Obama's birth certificate, demanding documents, and insisting Hawaii was hiding something. Obama released his long-form birth certificate in April 2011 specifically in response to Trump's media campaign. Trump continued the campaign for years afterward. In September 2016, he held a press conference in which he acknowledged Obama was born in the United States — and falsely blamed Hillary Clinton for starting the theory.