Joel Burgess

Asheville (N.C.) Citizen-Times

ASHEVILLE, N.C.— A 69-year-old said she was shocked at her experience at Monday's Donald Trump rally that ended with a man punching her in the face.

Shirley Teter of Asheville protested against the Republican candidate during his Monday rally at the U.S. Cellular Center, where 7,000 attended and hundreds more protested.

Teter has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and uses an oxygen tank to help her breathe. After the punch, she ended up in the hospital until 2 a.m. Tuesday, she said.

"People need to know what state of agitation he puts people in," she said of Trump.

At the rally, Trump criticized Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton for calling some of his supporters "deplorables."

After the rally, Teter told others leaving "You better learn to speak Russian." She said that was referencing what she felt was a cozy relationship between the Republican and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who she said was "playing" Trump.

At that point, she said a man turned and punched her in the jaw.

Matt Price of Fairview said he saw Teter hit the ground and heard a loud "metal clank" and assumed it was the oxygen tank inside her backpack.

Some witnesses said Teter touched the man, but others she said she didn't.

On Tuesday, police said they had issued a warrant for Richard Campbell in relation to Teter's incident. Teter said officers gave her information about the man that showed he was 73 years old and from Edisto Island, South Carolina.

A call to a number police listed for Campbell went to voicemail and was not returned immediately Tuesday afternoon.

After leaving the hospital, Teter said she had pain in her jaw and couldn't chew. She also had a scraped elbow and pain in her ribs. .

During Trump's Monday event, the most notable disturbance inside the arena came when protesters stood on the balcony behind Trump and began shouting. A man in a gray shirt made his way past several seated attendees and made a threatening gesture at the protesters.





One protester, Jeff Pinter of Asheville, said the man put up his fists, so Pinter grabbed his wrists. Video shows the man grabbing Pinter's shirt and appearing to strike him after another man in a suit, who appeared to be with campaign security walked between the parties.

The man in the gray shirt also slapped a woman protester in the chest, pushed another man on the back of the head and slapped at another woman.

Trump broke from his speech to comment on the incident, saying, "Is there anywhere in American more fun to be than a Trump rally?" Then, "It's OK, the cameras are following this."

An Asheville officer got victim information immediately after the incident and followed up with an arrest warrant Tuesday for Thomas Vellanti Jr. of Flat Rock, the police spokeswoman said. A Facebook message to Vellanti and a call to a number listed under his name weren't immediately returned Tuesday afternoon.

The Trump campaign did not respond to questions Tuesday about the incident with Teter or other violent encounters between protesters and supporters caught on video or reported by witnesses. No injuries were reported at the event besides Teter's.

Buncombe County Republican Chairman Nathan West said protesters at first were restrained and respectful. But as the doors opened and the number of protesters grew to about 75-100, they pressed close to supporters entering the center and some screamed and cursed at event-goers, calling them "racists" and "Nazis."

"I saw one dust-up where a protester bumped into a younger man and things escalated momentarily but was quickly resolved as other supporters grabbed the young man and pulled him back and (Asheville police) arrived within seconds," West said.

Other protesters remained less confrontational, he said.

The Secret Service was in charge of security in the entire area and laid out a plan that had local law enforcement dealing with issues that weren't threats to Trump, said Matthew Quinn, assistant special agent in charge of North Carolina operations.

Because the rally inside the center was a private event, the Trump campaign had a right to ask attendees to leave. The campaign could also ask police to become involved, Quinn said.

Earlier in the afternoon, Asheville officers confiscated a firearm from someone outside the center.

In an interview, Teter said she was originally from Minnesota and went to San Francisco as a 16-year-old where she protested they war in Vietnam. Later in Milwaukee, she said she also joined the Civil Rights movement.

Despite the heated environment at that time, Teter said, "they were peace marches. They were peaceful."

She spoke to the Citizen-Times from the counter at Cafe 64 on Haywood Street downtown. Manager Jared Dixon hugged her after serving her coffee and said he heard about the incident Monday and rushed out to look for her.

"She's such a sweet lady," Dixon said. "She's like our mascot."

Asked about whether there should have been more officers or barriers to keep protesters and supporters apart, Quinn, the special agent, said outside of measures to protect Trump, the secret service had to balance people's right to protest with security.

"In order to not have a police state, we have to build sites with the security of the protectee in mind and of course account for unforeseen things that are going to happen, like protesters coming in. We also have to be cognizant of freedom of speech," he said.

'We might have to kill him,' says man who punched Trump protester