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."
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