Teen wearing Trump shirt accused of punching Harris supporter, 70

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

The 17-year-old boy — wearing a shirt featuring an image of Trump raising his middle finger in front of an American flag background — 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 event organizers, arrived on the scene at the rally in Stuart, on Florida's Treasure Coast. He was charged with battery on a person 65 years of age or over, according to Stuart Police Department spokesperson Brian Bossio.

According to witnesses, Bossio said, the 17-year-old was walking away from a separate altercation with a male Harris supporter when he struck Tomasko and knocked her to the ground.

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

"I'm standing there and people are moving and this kid just turned around and he punched me. I don't know where he came from," Tomasko said. "He punched me in the gut and knocked me on the ground, and I fell back and hit the ground. Thank goodness 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 she may need to because of her hip hitting the ground when she fell.

She said the boy who punched her was one of four that Tomasko saw earlier during the rally.

"There were these four boys that were, you know, Trumpers, and it's a Harris rally," Tomasko said. "So they were going back and forth and antagonizing people, and our people were antagonizing them, I guess."

The rally, called by supporters "Rally on the Bridge," was part of the nationwide Women's March, and was specifically in support of Harris and Amendment 4, a ballot measure that would put protections for abortion rights in Florida's state constitution.

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

"My girlfriend called me from Massachusetts and said 'Kathy, I can't believe, we've done rallies like this for how many years and nothing like this ever happens,'" Tomasko said.

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

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

This election has been especially contested, leading to threats of violence nationwide.

A recent study showed nearly 1 in 3 Republicans who view Trump favorably believe political violence is acceptable, compared to 1 in 4 Republicans overall and 1 in 6 Americans. Experts have warned this could be a dangerous election, USA TODAY previously reported. This is the first presidential election after Trump's refusal to accept his loss in the 2020 election sowed distrust in the electoral system and fueled the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Trump has survived two assassination attempts this year. In July, he was shot in the ear by a gunman positioned 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 along the perimeter of Trump's golf course, where Trump was golfing at the time.

Threats have also been made against election workers and public officials this season. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced legal action in four cases earlier in October.

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

Contributing: Erin Mansfield, Bart Jansen, James Powel, John Bacon

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