North Carolina deputies disciplined for inaction following assault at Trump rally

Donald Trump greets supporters at a rally.

(Image credit: Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

published 17 March 2016

Sheriff Earl "Moose" Butler of the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office in North Carolina announced Wednesday that five deputies have been disciplined for inaction stemming from an incident at a Donald Trump rally last week in Fayetteville.

Video footage shot at the March 9 rally allegedly shows John McGraw, 78, punching protester Rakeem Jones as he was escorted out of the venue. The video also shows deputies ignoring McGraw and taking Jones down. McGraw was arrested the following day after the video surfaced. In a statement, Butler said the deputies were disciplined for "failing to discharge their duties," and said their actions "have never been and will not ever be tolerated under the policies of this office."

The officers were not identified, but Butler said three have been demoted in rank and suspended five days without pay while the two others were suspended three days without pay. All five are on probationary status for the next 12 months, NBC News reports. "We regret that any of the circumstances at the Trump rally occurred, and we regret that we have had to investigate all of these matters," Butler said. "It is our duty and responsibility to do justice, and to carefully examine not only the actions of others, but our own actions to ensure that the law and our policies are justly and fairly enforced."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox