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Teen in Trump shirt accused of beating Harris supporter, 70

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A teenager wearing a Donald Trump T-shirt was arrested Saturday at a rally in support of Vice President Kamala Harris in Florida after he punched a 70-year-old woman in the stomach, according to police.

The 17-year-old boy – who was wearing a T-shirt depicting Trump giving his middle finger against a backdrop of an American flag – punched a Harris supporter, knocking her off her feet, according to police and the woman, Kathleen Tomasko.

The 17-year-old was arrested after police hired by the organizers arrived at the scene of the rally in Stuart on Florida's Treasure Coast. Stuart Police Department spokesman Brian Bossio said he was charged with battery on a person 65 years old or older.

According to testimony, Bossio said the 17-year-old was on his way to a separate altercation with a male Harris supporter when he hit Tomasko and threw him to the ground.

Live updates on the 2024 election: Trump and Harris await Election Day results; new polls

Woman beaten at local women's march says she didn't see it coming

Tomasko said she did nothing to provoke the 17-year-old and she didn't hear him say anything to her. In fact, she said, she didn't even see him coming.

“I'm standing there and people are moving and this kid just turned around and hit me. I don’t know where he comes from,” Tomasko said. “He punched me in the stomach and knocked me to the ground and I fell back and landed on the ground. Thank God the two ladies were behind me so I didn’t hit my head.”

While Tomasko initially declined to go to the hospital, she said Saturday afternoon that it may be necessary because her hip hit the ground when she fell.

She said the boy who hit her was one of four boys Tomasko had seen earlier during the rally.

“There were these four guys who were, you know, Trumpers, and it's a Harris rally,” Tomasko said. “So they went back and forth, pissing people off, and pissing our people off, I guess.”

The rally, dubbed the “Rally on the Bridge” by its supporters, was part of the statewide Women's March and was specifically designed to support Harris and Amendment 4, a ballot measure that would add abortion rights protections to the Florida state constitution.

Tomasko said she has been attending political events for decades but has never experienced anything like this.

“My friend called me from Massachusetts and said, 'Kathy, I can't believe it, we've been doing rallies like this for how many years and nothing like this has ever happened,'” Tomasko said.

No other arrests or incidents of violence were reported at the event, Bossio said.

The 2024 election season was marked by violence

The incident was the second arrest following a political dispute in Florida in the week before Election Day. On Oct. 29, an 18-year-old man was arrested in Neptune Beach, Florida, after police said he brandished a machete at a woman from the opposing political party at an early voting site.

This election was particularly contentious and led to threats of violence across the country.

A recent study found that nearly one in three Republicans who view Trump favorably believe political violence is acceptable, compared to one in four Republicans overall and one in six Americans. Experts have warned that this could be a dangerous choice, USA TODAY previously reported. This is the first presidential election since Trump's refusal to accept his defeat in the 2020 election sowed distrust in the electoral system and fueled the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Trump has survived two assassination attempts this year. In July, he was shot in the ear by a gunman stationed on a rooftop near a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. In September, the Secret Service opened fire on a suspect after seeing a gun barrel in the bushes at the edge of Trump's golf course, where Trump was golfing.

Election workers and officials have also been threatened this season. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced legal action in four cases in early October.

  • A Philadelphia man has been accused of threatening to “skin” a party official.
  • An Alabama man was accused of threatening to execute election officials in Arizona;
  • An Arizona man has been charged in a shooting at a Democratic campaign office;
  • And a California man has been charged with bombing a courthouse.

Ballot boxes were also set on fire in Washington and Oregon on October 28th.

Contributor: Erin Mansfield, Bart Jansen, James Powell, John Bacon

Kinsey Crowley is a featured news reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley.

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