A man was arrested at a recent appearance of former President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania after disrupting the event in an attempt to hang a banner in protest of the former president and his policies.
Johnstown Police arrested 36-year-old Stephen A. Weiss of Pittsburgh on Friday, Aug. 30, for disrupting an event organized by Moms for Liberty in Johnstown when he climbed onto a media stage while Trump was speaking on the event stage but was intercepted before carrying out his plan. The incident took place at a rally organized by Moms for Liberty, an activist organization that focuses on parental rights and opposes the imposition of transgender ideology and LGBTQ-related subjects to minors in schools through enacting legislation.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Sept. 3, Johnstown Police Chief Richard Pritchard told reporters that Weiss faces charges of resisting arrest, disrupting a public meeting, and disorderly conduct.
According to the affidavit, Weiss dashed onto the floor of the arena and quickly jumped onto the media riser as he “began to yell towards the main stage” where Trump was speaking. When security tried to remove him, Weiss held onto the steel barricade and he had to be forced off. He was planning to hang up a banner he made at home from a bed sheet in order to protest Trump’s policies, which he told investigators he strongly disagreed with.
Pritchard said they aren’t aware of what was written on the banner, which they said was discarded by arena staff immediately after the incident and could not be located. Weiss planned to glue the banner up somehow and reportedly faked a foot injury so he could sneak the tube of glue inside the venue by hiding it in a metal crutch. Reporters reached out to Weiss for comment on the situation, but he declined to respond and said he was seeking legal counsel.
A friend accompanied Weiss to the event but said he wasn’t aware of his plan. Police did not charge the man as an accomplice.
Weiss was questioned by the Secret Service after the incident and then released when he was determined not to be a threat. Security surrounding the former president has been on high alert ever since the failed assassination attempt against him on July 13.
