Police Deny Stabbing at Trump Rally After Video Sparks Claims - Newsweek

Police in Ohio have denied viral claims that a Donald Trump supporter was stabbed outside the president's rally on Wednesday, saying footage of the incident instead showed an officer's pocketknife caught on a man's shirt during a fight.

The Chillicothe Police Department said an officer intervened to break up an altercation between two people when the retention clip securing the officer's pocketknife became caught in one of the individuals' shirts. The knife did not open, the department said.

"There was no stabbing," Micheal Short, a captain at the Chillicothe Police Department, told Newsweek.

The account contradicts claims circulating on social media that a Trump supporter was stabbed outside the rally while the president addressed supporters at the Shoemaker Center on the Ohio University Chillicothe campus on Wednesday evening.

Conservative activist Tyler Bowyer shared the footage of the incident on X, claiming that a Trump supporter had been stabbed by an anti-Trump individual.

"Apparently some crazy anti-Trump person stabbed a Trump supporter outside his rally in Ohio," Bowyer wrote in the post's caption. "This is more of the insane political violence stoked by the Left. Pray for the person who was stabbed."

The footage circulated online amid claims that a knife had been left protruding from a man's back.

The chaotic footage, in which Trump can be heard speaking in the background, showed a young man asking police officers, "Is there a knife in my back?" and telling them, "I think I've been stabbed."

An officer is seen flashing a torch onto the man while checking his body for wounds as onlookers gathered around in shock.

One woman can be heard saying "Oh my god" at the sight of the pocketknife, which appears to be protruding from the left side of the man's back, while another man points to an individual standing further away and shouts, "Arrest that m**********, he stabbed him."

A spat erupts between onlookers and police officers as they call for an individual to be arrested at the scene.

The man who was believed to have been stabbed then sits on the side of the pavement as cameras flash around him, capturing the sight of an orange pocketknife handle sticking out from his black T-shirt.

The rally-goer who captured the footage can be heard saying "stay back, stay back" as others attempt to gather around to catch a glimpse.

The video prompted speculation about what had happened outside the venue, with claims of a stabbing spreading before police issued their explanation.

The incident occurred as Trump visited Chillicothe as part of his campaigning blitz ahead of the midterm elections on November 3.

The president spoke at the Shoemaker Center, where Republican candidates, including U.S. Senator Jon Husted, also featured in the event.

Security for the rally involved the U.S. Secret Service and local law enforcement agencies.

Trump continued his remarks during the response outside the venue, as the footage showed.

No further details about the individuals involved were included in the statement provided to Newsweek.