Donald Trump rally accused stage runner charged federally
By Jeremy P. Kelley
Dayton Daily News Breaking News Staff
DAYTON —
UPDATE @12:40 p.m. (March 15):
Thomas DiMassimo’s attorney does not think his client will be charged in state court, but that the federal misdemeanor charge will go forward.
“I don’t think he’s going to be charged in both jurisdictions,” said Jon Paul Rion, who added that he didn’t think DiMassimo would be in Dayton Municipal Court on Tuesday. “It’s clear that Thomas is simply a college student who, in his mind, was simply engaging in a form of political speech and making a statement, in his own mind.
“He is not a member of any organization. Those statements (of DiMassimo’s possible ties to ISIS) are completely without basis.”
The federal crime DiMassimo is accused of carries a one-year maximum sentence after a conviction. If a weapon had been used or serious physical injuries had been suffered, there could have been a 10-year maximum.
DiMassimo’s first federal court appearance is scheduled for March 23. He is not currently in custody.
UPDATE @ 10:20 a.m. (March 15):
Thomas DiMassimo, 22, has been charged in federal court with entering a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority to do so, according to court documents.
Court documents read that DiMassimo “did knowingly enter and remain in a restricted building….cordoned off and otherwise restricted area where a person protected by the Secret Service.”
DiMassimo does not yet have a federal court date.
Local charges are also being reviewed for the 22-year-old, but no official charges have been filed in Dayton Municipal Court, according to court records.
UPDATE 11:28 a.m. (March 14):
Thomas DiMassimo, 22, has not yet been formally charged after he was accused of jumping over a railing in an attempt to get onto the stage at the Donald Trump rally Saturday near the Dayton International Airport.
Court officials said DiMassimo has been ordered into court tomorrow at 1:30 p.m., but the exact nature of that appearance will be determined depending on formal charges.
DiMassimo was released from the Montgomery County Jail on Saturday afternoon after he posted bond. The 22-year-old had been booked on pending charges of disorderly conduct and inducing panic.
INITIAL REPORT:
A Fairborn man with a history of protesting vaulted over waist-high metal railings, broke through two security staff and nearly got on stage near the end of Saturday’s Donald Trump rally near the Dayton International Airport.
Thomas Dimassimo, 22, was arrested for disorderly conduct and inducing panic, according to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office. He was released from the county jail Saturday afternoon.
WATCH THE VIDEO OF THE INCIDENT HERE
Details from the arrest report
Four Secret Service agents jumped to surround Trump Witnesses: Man placed in plastic-style handcuffs
Suspect identified as Thomas DiMassimo, of Fairborn
DiMassimo was held in jail for a few hours before he posted bail
Last year, DiMassimo led a controversial civil rights protest at Wright State University
Trump Tweeted thanks to U.S. Secret Service, called DiMassimo a ‘maniac’
The candidate Tweeted a video of DiMassimo taking part in a protest at Wright State that had been altered
Secret Service and other security officers swarmed DiMassimo as he reached the back of the stage and tried to scramble up, about 8 to 10 feet from where the Republican frontrunner was speaking to a large crowd in the hangar at Wright Bros. Aero.
Trump was startled by the commotion, stopped his speech and was immediately surrounded by four Secret Service agents. After about 30 seconds, as the man was pinned to the ground and then led away, Trump returned to the podium, shaking his head. The crowd first booed and then started chanting, “Trump, Trump, Trump,” and “USA, USA, USA.”
Trump pointed to people right in front of the stage and thanked them for warning him of the man coming from behind.
From his Twitter account, Trump thanked the United States Secret Service for “stopping the maniac running to the stage” and posted a video he said was of DiMassimo from YouTube, saying DiMassimo had ties to ISIS.
The video shows DiMassimo and several people dragging the American flag as part of a protest at Wright State. Added to the clips of the protest is a graphic of the ISIS flag and DiMassimo photoshopped holding a gun, giving the impression he’s a supporter of the Islamic State. The video appears to be a hoax.
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“I was ready for him, but it’s much easier if the cops do it, don’t we agree?” Trump said.
In April 2015, Dimassimo, then a Wright State University junior, helped lead an anti-racism protest that included students standing on American flags and holding signs saying, “Not my flag.”
“I thought it would ruffle some feathers, but I did not anticipate how tense the backlash would become,” DiMassimo told this newspaper at the time. “If anything, all that has shown is that people in this area and people on the Internet care more about a symbolic piece of cloth, than they do a black person’s life … or, even beyond that, our Constitutional rights.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Saturday that DiMassimo was the son of Atlanta infrastrure bond program administrator Faye Dimassimo. Faye recently resigned from her post as Cobb County transportation director, a move that drew questions in Atlanta when it was announced last November. The newspaper reported her resignation came while transit expansion totaling over $100 million was scheduled to start around a new ballpark in Cobb County.
Many people in the crowd Saturday couldn’t see the altercation. The man jumped the fence and reached the stage in a few seconds, then was pinned to the ground behind the stage and out of sight for many.
When the rally ended, as Trump greeted supporters and signed autographs along the railing line, Dimassimo was being questioned outside two police SUVs about 50 yards from the rally site.
Dal Haybron stood behind the ruckus and said the man who rushed the stage was with three or four other people. He said the Secret Service was “too gentle.”
“He jumped over the rail and immediately they just nailed him,” Haybron said. “Boom. Done.”
A few other protesters were led out earlier in the rally, with Trump once telling security to, “Get ‘em out of here” to cheers from the crowd.
Two young men in the crowd to Trump’s right debated whether to make a scene, and yelled statements critical to Trump a couple times. But others nearby either ignored them or urged them to just watch the rally. After the man was arrested for charging the stage, they pair slid out the back door.
But the event was calm compared to Friday’s Chicago rally, which Trump canceled due to safety concerns after protesters packed the arena where he was scheduled to speak. After the cancellation, there were some isolated physical confrontations between protesters and Trump supporters. Chicago police said five people were arrested.
Trump addressed the Chicago issue during the Dayton rally, saying it would have been easier to let the Chicago event go on and let people fight and hurt themselves, but he said “we made the right decision” in canceling.
Charles Blevins of Washington Twp. said he was aware of the problems at the Chicago event before he came to Saturday’s rally.
“After watching on TV last night, I’m glad this turned out the way it did,” Blevins said. “They had a few protesters, but they probably have that at all events. I thought it was handled very well.”
Staff Writer Josh Sweigart contributed to this story.
