A chaotic confrontation outside President Donald Trump’s Ohio rally sparked claims that a supporter had been stabbed, but local police are pushing back, revealing that the apparent weapon was actually an officer’s pocketknife caught in the man’s shirt.
The incident unfolded Wednesday evening outside the Shoemaker Center at Ohio University Chillicothe, where Trump was addressing supporters ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
Video circulating across social media appeared to show a knife protruding from a man’s back as frightened onlookers gathered around him and demanded answers.
But the Chillicothe Police Department says the alarming footage does not show a stabbing.
“There was no stabbing,” police Capt. Micheal Short told Newsweek.
According to authorities, an officer was attempting to separate two individuals involved in an altercation when the retention clip on the officer’s pocketknife became tangled in one person’s shirt.
The department confirmed that the knife never opened, contradicting widespread claims that someone had been attacked with a blade.
The explanation came after footage of the confrontation spread online, prompting accusations of political violence against Trump supporters.
Conservative activist Tyler Bowyer was among those who shared the video, initially suggesting that an anti-Trump individual had stabbed a rally attendee.
“Apparently some crazy anti-Trump person stabbed a Trump supporter outside his rally in Ohio,” Bowyer wrote.
“This is more of the insane political violence stoked by the Left. Pray for the person who was stabbed.”
However, police have not substantiated the allegation that an anti-Trump demonstrator stabbed anyone during the confrontation.
The viral recording captured the confusion surrounding the incident as the man questioned officers about what appeared to be lodged in his clothing.
“Is there a knife in my back?” he asked.
“I think I’ve been stabbed.”
An officer subsequently examined the man’s back with a flashlight while nearby spectators reacted to the unusual scene.
One woman exclaimed, “Oh my god” after noticing the knife handle protruding from the man’s black T-shirt.
Another bystander pointed toward someone nearby and demanded, “Arrest that m**********, he stabbed him.”
The confusion quickly escalated into a confrontation between spectators and officers as people demanded that someone be taken into custody.
The man eventually sat along the sidewalk while witnesses continued recording the scene.
