Who knew the Secret Service exists to strong-arm reporters at rallies? I certainly didn't. Watch the middle of the screen toward the bottom in the video above.
Yet that's what happened today when a group of Black Lives Matter protesters disrupted one of Trump's rallies and a Time Magazine reporter dared to try and get a record of their ejection.
The photographer, Time magazine's Christopher Morris, ended up on the ground, kicking out his legs at a man in a gray suit who was trying to hold him. It was not immediately clear who the man in the gray suit was working for.
It was pretty violent.
The photographer, while getting to his feet, points at his throat and appears to say, "you grabbed me by the throat."
Once on his feet, he then reaches out to the man's throat before being grabbed by a third man around the arm.
As the man with the camera is pulled away, he can be heard saying, "he grabbed me by the neck."
Trump's campaign issued a statement indicating that the security agent involved in the incident was with the U.S. Secret Service (USSS).
"There was an incident involving a photographer and a USSS agent at today’s Radford University Trump rally," wrote spokeswoman Hope Hicks in an email to The Hill. "We are not aware of all details surrounding the incident and all future inquiries should be directed to local law enforcement. "
The Secret Service subsequently acknowledged that their agent was involved.
“The Secret Service is aware of an incident involving an employee of the Secret Service that occurred earlier today in Radford, VA. At this time, our local field office is working with their law enforcement partners to determine the exact circumstances that led up to this incident. The Secret Service will provide further details as warranted once additional facts surrounding the situation are known.”
According to a Wall Street Journal reporter standing next to Morris, the agent choke-slammed him after Morris said "Fck you" in response to being told he couldn't go past the press barrier.
Update: Here's video from a different, more shocking angle.
Here's new angle of the Time photographer being slammed to ground. https://t.co/GD6sLpB1bP (via @Maddie_Marshall) pic.twitter.com/JZ6qKFYfns
— Tim Hanrahan (@TimJHanrahan) February 29, 2016
