Trump rally heckler punched during a campaign stop in Youngstown, Ohio, on Monday when an apparent supporter struck a woman wearing a shirt that read “Release the Epstein Files,” according to video from the event.
The incident unfolded as former President Donald Trump criticized Ohio Democratic Senate candidate Sherrod Brown, who is running to unseat Republican Sen. Jon Husted after losing his Senate seat in 2024. As Trump spoke, attention shifted to a disturbance in the crowd.
Video showed a man who appeared to back Trump shoving the heckler, then hitting her in the face as nearby attendees chanted “USA.” The man also grabbed the woman by the hair and appeared to force her head toward the ground.
Police moved in and separated the two, then escorted the woman from the venue. The man who struck her remained inside and was seen exchanging high-fives with others.
Trump acknowledged the disruption from the stage and alleged, without offering evidence, that the protester was paid. He also mocked the protester’s weight in remarks to the crowd. “They’re paid protesters,” he said, adding, “That’s a very low-class protester.” He initially referred to the heckler as a man.
Trump rally heckler punched as Epstein shirt draws attention
The woman’s shirt referenced calls to release additional records tied to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, an issue that has drawn bipartisan scrutiny of the timing of further document releases by the federal government.
The Ohio clash came just days after a separate altercation at a Trump rally in San Antonio, Texas, where a man in a MAGA hat grabbed a heckler by the hair and pulled him to the ground.
