On Thursday night, a man hostile to Trump supporters who were protesting at a Tempe, Arizona, event for Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) was arrested when he reportedly threatened to strike one of them.
The Washington Post reported that the man was feuding with members of the AZ Patriots, who were wearing red “Make America Great Again” hats and carrying a Trump flag at the Marquee Theater. The Post reported that Jennifer Harrison, a member of the group, claimed he threatened to strike her as well as attempt to seize a member’s cellphone being used to record the event.
ABC News reported, “The man was abruptly taken into the lobby, where he was pushed onto the ground and pinned down. At least six members of the event security staff then forcefully dragged the man, who did not appear to cooperate with attempts to bring him outside, across the lobby by his arms and legs.”
Tempe Police Sgt. Kevin Renwick said of the arrest, “It’s pretty cut and dried.” He told ABC News, “This is just people behaving badly. Absolutely it was appropriate and lawful the way the security removed him.” He concluded, “It never looks pretty, but sometimes that’s the way to do it, unfortunately.”
Detective Greg Bacon, a spokesman for the Tempe Police Department, added the man would be charged with “assault and disorderly conduct for confronting another subject at the event.”
Harrison said members of Warren’s campaign staff tried to block the view of the AZ Patriots by using signs. She added that, prior to the incident with the arrested man, security at the event asked her group to leave. She said, “No problem, we left peacefully, no problem. We respect the law.” But as they were leaving, the arrested man went into action, allegedly trying to seize her compatriot’s phone. She said that later the man “came after me and tried to take a swing at me.” She concluded, “Liberals cannot keep their hands to themselves at these events. They see a Make America Great Again hat and they become unglued.”
AZCentral.com reported that the crowd at the Marquee Theater numbered roughly 3,000 people, and although the event was billed as a townhall, Warren took no questions.
In May, OH Predictive Insights released the results of a poll surveying the top six Democratic candidates at the time versus President Trump. Former Vice president Joe Biden was the only Democratic candidate to lead Trump, 49%-44%. Warren trailed Trump 42%-47%. Mike Noble, Chief of Research and Managing Partner at Predictive Insights, commented, “Biden is currently the king of the hill, although just like in the childhood game many of us used to play at recess, the question remains if he will be on top of the hill when the bell rings. The winners and losers of the 2020 election cycle will greatly depend on who ultimately lands up becoming the Democratic nominee for President.”
Fivethirtyeight.com pointed out, “Arizona’s primary is scheduled for March 17, 2020. 67 delegates will be awarded proportionally based on the results statewide and in each congressional district. In 2016, Hillary Clinton got 56.3% of the vote in Arizona, and Bernie Sanders got 41.4%.”