Photojournalist Roughed Up at Donald Trump Rally in Virginia
(ABC News) — A photographer from Time magazine was roughed up by a Secret Service agent as the press rushed to film protesters at a Donald Trump rally in Virginia today.
“There was an incident involving a photographer and a [U.S. Secret Service] agent at today’s Radford University Trump rally,” according to a written statement from the Trump campaign. “We are not aware of all details surrounding the incident and all future inquiries should be directed to local law enforcement.”
The photographer, Chris Morris, was not arrested and told ABC News the agent put his hands on him first.
In a video of the incident, posted to Twitter, the Secret Service agent can be seen slamming Morris to the ground.
Secret Service agent choke slams reporter pic.twitter.com/jdsHOlylSB
— Joe Perticone (@JoePerticone) February 29, 2016
Another video posted on Twitter appeared to show Morris confronting the agent moments before the incident took place.
Morris spoke briefly to reporters after the incident.
“I stepped 18 inches out of the pen and he grabbed me by the neck and started choking me, then he slammed me to the ground,” he said.
Trump received a Secret Service detail back in November, after a request for protection was approved by the Department of Homeland Security.
The Secret Service has not yet commented on the incident.
Chris Keane/Reuters
