Security personnel surround Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump after a man tried to rush the stage during a campaign rally in Vandalia, Ohio, outside of Dayton, on Saturday, March 12, 2016. The man was stopped and Trump continued with his speech. (Carrie Cochran/The Cincinnati Enquirer via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT; NO SALES (The Associated Press)

Is someone going to die at a Donald Trump political rally? That is a scary but salient question, given the escalating events of recent days.

For months, Trump has said demonstrators should be “roughed up” and that his supporters should “knock the crap out of ‘em.” Over the weekend, adding to his noxious mix of provocation and demagoguery, the Republican presidential front-runner said he was considering paying the legal bills of an elderly admirer who sucker-punched a protester at one of his rallies — something Trump had said during speeches he’d do for those who confront his critics. It’s no wonder some of his supporters have sought to intimidate and bully peaceful protesters. They could become more emboldened now.

But Trump is not the only one to worry about. There are signs that agitators on the political left are spoiling for a fight — literally. Thomas Dimassimo, the campus activist grabbed by Secret Service agents after he tried to storm the stage of a Trump rally in Dayton, Ohio, wasn’t going to present Trump with a petition asking him to be a better person. His tactics aren’t unique. As The New York Times reported after a Trump rally in Chicago was canceled because of fears about public safety, “the protesters, too, have sometimes instigated the clashes. They fling themselves to the ground, forcing law enforcement officers — often outmanned and overwhelmed — to drag them away.”


This is an ominous moment in the campaign, especially because Trump may think that he benefits from violent protests. Trump should urge his supporters to act peacefully. And Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders should caution theirs, too.

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