Supporters upstage Donald Trump at Las Vegas rally, heckling protesters with Nazi slogan, threats


A day before the final Republican presidential debate of 2015, Donald Trump held a rally in Las Vegas on Monday night, and the crowd did not handle the occasional interruption from Black Lives Matter protesters very politely. As one protester, identified by BuzzFeed News as Ender Austin III, was dragged out by hotel and casino security, Trump supporters yelled "Shoot him!" and "Kick his ass!" and, memorably, "Light the motherf—er on fire!" BuzzFeed's McKay Coppins caught that last (NSFW) invective on camera:
Other comments shouted out by Trump supporters as protesters were forcibly escorted from the room included the Nazi salute "Sieg heil!" and "He's a Muslim!" NBC News reports. After the fifth or sixth scuffle between security and protesters, Coppins, attending his first Trump rally, expressed surprise at the circus:
Along with doing a play-by-play of the scuffles, Trump reportedly taunted the press for rushing to capture each flare-up on camera. At one point, he joked that he had staged a protester-security fight just to get reporters to document the size of the crowd. Trump has expanded his lead among Republicans since proposing that all Muslims be banned from traveling to the U.S.
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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
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