The official Instagram account of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders attempted to raise money on Sunday by using a video of a man who was arrested for inducing panic at a 2016 Trump campaign rally.
“Want to really scare Trump? Help us show the strength of our campaign to defeat him—chip in before our fundraising deadline at midnight at the link in bio,” the post read. Attached was a doctored video in which then-candidate Trump appears to be startled by Sanders.
In the original video, recorded March 2016 during a campaign rally in Dayton, Ohio, Trump was actually frightened by college student Thomas DiMassimo, who was attempting to storm the stage.
Apparently fearing an assassination attempt, Secret Service swarmed Trump to protect him. DiMassimo was taken into custody and charged with disorderly conduct and inducing panic. Rumors swirled at first that he was brandishing a knife.
“Thank you for the warning,” Trump said to the people in the front rows at the time. “I was ready for him, but it’s much easier if the cops do it, don’t we agree?”
CNN subsequently granted an interview to DiMassimo, who said he “was thinking that I could get up on stage and take his podium away from him and take his mic away from him and send a message to all people out in the country who wouldn’t consider themselves racist, who wouldn’t consider themselves approving of what type of violence Donald Trump is allowing in his rallies, and send them a message that we can be strong, that we can find our strength and we can stand up against Donald Trump and against this new wave he’s ushering in of truly just violent white supremacist ideas.”
DiMassimo eventually pleaded guilty to entering “a restricted area where a person protected by the Secret Service was temporarily visiting, without lawful authority,” for which was fined $250 and placed on probation.
In an interview with Dayton Daily News a year later, DiMassimo said he did not regret what he did, and wondered why more did not act similarly. Though he asserted that he never intended to hurt the president, he was seemingly glad that people thought he was willing to do so.
“So that people in their mind could think, wow, someone’s willing to hurt this man for the things he’s saying and the things he’s doing,” DiMassimo said. “Not that I would. But I think that’s healthy (for people to consider).”
