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Donald J. Trump said on Sunday that he would look into paying the legal fees of a man who was accused of sucker-punching a protester at one of Mr. Trump’s rallies last week, directly contradicting his claim that he does not condone violence by his backers.

The man, John McGraw of Linden, N.C., was arrested on Thursday and charged with assault, battery and disorderly conduct. After the incident in Fayetteville, N.C., Mr. McGraw said that next time he might kill the protester, who he said was not acting like an American.

Mr. Trump, the leading Republican presidential candidate, defended Mr. McGraw in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” program on Sunday, claiming that the protester was taunting him and making crude gestures. While he said he did not want to see violence at his events, Mr. Trump said that the man who threw the punch might have gotten carried away but that he “obviously loves the country.”

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Mr. Trump has regularly said at his rallies that his supporters should actively silence protesters, and he has promised to pay their legal fees if they become too aggressive. Asked if he planned to keep that promise for Mr. McGraw, Mr. Trump said that he did.

“I’ve actually instructed my people to look into it, yes,” Mr. Trump said.

Anger has been boiling over at Mr. Trump’s rallies over the last week. On Saturday, a protester jumped over a barrier and rushed the stage where Mr. Trump was speaking. The man was tackled by Secret Service agents and taken away.

Later on Saturday, Mr. Trump posted a tweet with a video, set to Arabic music, showing someone who appeared to be the stage-rusher dragging an American flag. Mr. Trump accused the man of having ties to the Islamic State, also known as ISIS.

The video was apparently fake, but Mr. Trump insisted on Sunday that it raised questions about the protester.

“Supposedly, there was chatter about ISIS,” Mr. Trump said. “All I know is what’s on the internet.”