Someone threw a cell phone at President Donald Trump just as he walked onto the stage at the National Rifle Association’s Leadership Forum in Indianapolis, prompting Secret Service personnel to rush in and make an arrest.
A video captured the device as it was flung from a great distance, landing safely to the left of the president. The mobile phone momentarily caught Trump’s attention as it skidded across the stage floor.
Close call
Watch the scene unfold as Trump approaches the podium on Friday to address the national gun lobby at the Lucas Oil Stadium:
#BREAKING: A phone was thrown at @realDonaldTrump during his introduction at the @NRA convention.
The individual was swiftly arrested and the President continued with no problem. pic.twitter.com/EDcHwNgQl7
— Bradley Brewer (@realBradBrewer) April 26, 2019
Secret Service swarmed the audience as Trump began his speech. According to Fox News contributor Katie Pavlich, the perpetrator — later identified as William Rose — was spotted loitering near the front row with a Mountain Dew beverage in hand.
Officers from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office arrested him minutes later.
The Secret Service published an official statement describing the altercation, which read in part:
At approximately 12:30 p.m. (ET) today, President Trump was at an event in Indianapolis, IN. As the President was walking onto the stage, but prior to his remarks, a cell phone from the crowd landed on the opposite side of the stage. An individual was removed from the event and the investigation is continuing.
Motive unknown
Rose denied throwing his cell phone and claimed that someone stole it from him. “However, agents found his account to be a confusing one,” NBC News reported.
Rose appeared to be intoxicated, according to law enforcement sources who spoke with Fox News, and investigators are still trying to ascertain whether the Indiana native and father of three intended to threaten the president by tossing his phone onto the stage.
“The Marion County Sheriff’s Office assisted the U.S. Secret Service today in an ongoing investigation,” said Katie Carlson, a public information officer for the sheriff’s department. “William Rose, a subject in the investigation, was transported to receive a mental health evaluation.”
The cell phone remained on the stage throughout Trump’s speech. PJ Media managing editor Paula Bolyard, who covered the NRA event live, said she was “surprised” that security failed to remove the device, and found its presence so close to the president “a little unnerving.”
Risky business
This wasn’t the first time Trump has been pelted with projectiles from an unruly audience. On the campaign trail in January 2016, hecklers threw tomatoes at the future president moments after he referred to Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders as a “communist.”
But Trump did some throwing of his own Friday afternoon to conclude his NRA speech. The president tossed into the crowd the pen that he used to sign an executive order officially withdrawing the U.S. from the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty regulating the sale of military arms and equipment.
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