By Martin Savidge and Dana Ford, CNN

Updated 5:47 PM ET, Sun March 13, 2016

Thomas DiMassimo, 22, was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and inducing panic

He sat down Sunday with CNN to talk about what he did and why

(CNN)When Thomas DiMassimo tried to rush Donald Trump’s stage in Ohio over the weekend, he had a clear goal in mind.

He wanted to send a message.

“I 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 told CNN.

But DiMassimo, 22, didn’t make it to the podium.

He was quickly blocked by Secret Service officers, and members of Trump’s security detail rushed to cover him. After a few moments, the GOP front-runner, who was visibly startled, gave a thumbs-up and thanked the cheering crowd for warning him.

DiMassimo, 22, of Fairborn, Ohio, was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and inducing panic. He sat down with CNN on Sunday to talk about what he did and why.

“I was thinking that Donald Trump is a bully, and he is nothing more than that. He is somebody who is just saying a lot of bold things, he’s making bold claims. But I can see right through that and I can see that he’s truly just a coward. And he’s opportunistic and he’s willing to destroy this country for power for himself,” DiMassimo said.

When asked whether he’d planned on attacking Trump if he’d been able to reach him, DiMassimo said he did not.

“No, not at all. There would have been no point. Donald Trump is 6 foot 3. I’m 5 foot 9 maybe.