Time Photographer choked and pushed to the ground
Video shows him kicking at the suited agent from a defensive position
The
billionaire real estate mogul had waited for the various protesters to
be removed from the hall, saying: 'Folks, you're going to hear it
once: All lives matter.'
A photographer for Time magazine was reportedly choked and pushed to the ground in a tussle with U.S. Secret Service agents at a rally for Donald Trump. Continue to see photos after the cut.....
Video posted on social media shows photographer Chris Morris kicking at the agent from a defensive position on the ground at the event at Radford University in Virginia, on Monday, then getting up and grabbing the agent by the throat.
But Morris says he was assaulted first, never hit the agent, and will not press charges, CNN reported.
'I stepped 18 inches out of the [press] pen and then he grabbed me by the neck and started choking me and then he slammed me to the ground,' Morris told reporters at the scene.
Scroll down for video .......
A photographer (pictured bottom left) for Time magazine was reportedly choked and pushed to the ground in a tussle with U.S. Secret Service agents at a rally for Donald Trump
photographer Chris Morris (left) kicking at the Secret Service agent, who allegedly choked him. In the aftermath, Morris is seen getting up and grabbing the agent by the throat (right)
The
Trump campaign said there was an incident involving a photographer and
a Secret Service agent at the rally at Radford University in western
Virginia.
'We
are not aware of all details surrounding the incident and all future
inquiries should be directed to local law enforcement,' it said in a
statement.
The Secret Service in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
However, the agency says it needs to interview the agent in question, according to The Daily Beast's Asawin Suebsaerng.
Witnesses
claim that Morris was 'choke-slammed' to the ground, although the
video only shows the aftermath of the alleged attack. However, after
getting up, Morris is seen grabbing the agent by the throat.
Morris that he was assaulted first, but added that he won't be pressing charges.
Gabby Morrongiello,
a reporter for the Washington Examiner, posted a brief clip of the
incident on Twitter, captioned: 'This is how reporters are treated at
Trump rallies.
Photojournalist Christopher Morris is escorted by police during the rally for Donald Trump at Radford University on Monday
Morris (pictured center) said he was assaulted first, never hit the agent, and will not press charges
Morrongiello added that Morris 'was a credentialed member of the media, thrown to the ground while trying to exit the press pen.'
Morris had been trying to get pictures of a group protesting Trump at the rally, she told Buzzfeed. The rally had been repeatedly disrupted by hecklers, including some from the Black Lives Matter movement.
'I believe he was trying to exit the press pen to get a closer shot of a group of students who were protesting Trump,' she said.
'Yes, he was choke slammed and that's what landed him on the ground.'
She added: 'He was a credentialed member of the media, although Trump's staff is adamant about keeping reporters in the press pen until after the rally has concluded.
'I believe that is why he was handled like that.'
An extended clip of the incident, posted by Independent Journal reporter Joe Perticono shows Morris get up after the incident, gesture to his own neck before grabbing the agent by the throat.
Morris had been 'choke-slammed' by the agent, according to Perticono.
Perticono also posted another video showing the moments before the attack, in which Morris can be heard saying 'f*** you' to the agent.
!['I stepped 18 inches out of the [press] pen and then he grabbed me by the neck and started choking me and then he slammed me to the ground,' Morris told reporters at the scene](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/02/29/20/31B6690200000578-3469965-image-a-105_1456776959761.jpg)
'I stepped 18 inches out of the [press] pen and then he grabbed me by the neck and started choking me and then he slammed me to the ground,' Morris told reporters at the scene
A group of protesters from Black Lives Matter was escorted away from the raucous rally by security guards as the crowd around them began to chant: 'All lives matter'
The incident came after hecklers disrupted the rally, including some from the Black Lives Matter movement
Perticone wrote alongside the clip: 'The reporter says 'f*ck you' — that's when it got physical.'
However, he added that the first instance of violence came from the agent.
The incident came after the protesters – including some from the Black Lives Matter movement - disrupted the rally, which was held as the Republican front-runner came under fire for not clearly condemning white supremacist support during an interview on CNN on Sunday.
A group of protesters from Black Lives Matter was escorted away from the raucous rally by security guards as the crowd around them began to chant: 'All lives matter.'
The billionaire real estate mogul had waited for the various protesters to be removed from the hall, saying: 'Folks, you're going to hear it once: All lives matter.'
Groups of student protesters were escorted out of the rally for Donald Trump at Virginia's Radford University
The billionaire buinessman signs autographs during the rally at Radford University in Radford, Virginia
A Trump supporter holds up a copy of Time magazine that Donald Trump signed for her during a campaign event in Radford, Virginia
Trump paused in his remarks, ordering the security guards, 'Get them out please, get them out.'
At another point when a demonstrator was being ejected from the rally, Trump said: 'Oh folks, isn't it sad? We've gotta unify our country, we've gotta unify our country,' he said. 'But it is fun, and exciting.'
Early on Monday, Trump blamed a faulty television earpiece for his failure to disavow support from white supremacist groups, swatting aside the latest controversy to shadow his unorthodox march toward the Republican presidential nomination.
On the eve of Super Tuesday, the biggest voting day in the race to pick the 2016 presidential candidates, he tried to explain why he did not condemn backing from former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke during a Sunday television interview.
'I'm sitting in a house in Florida with a very bad earpiece that they gave me, and you could hardly hear what he was saying, but what I heard was various groups,' Trump said on NBC's 'Today' show.
'I disavowed David Duke all weekend long, on Facebook, on Twitter, and obviously, it is never enough,' he added.
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