Teen allegedly groped, pepper-sprayed at Trump rally in Wisconsin
A 15-year-old girl was groped before being pepper-sprayed by a man outside Donald Trump's rally in Janesville, Wisconsin on Tuesday, local police said. Authorities are searching for two suspects related to the incident.
A man in the 1,000-person crowd outside the Holiday Inn Express where the rally took place allegedly groped the teen before another person sprayed her in the face, police said in a statement. Video of the incident shows the girl recoiling after being shot point blank with the orange substance. Before being sprayed, she can be seen shoving someone in the crowd in videos below. The girl says she pushed the man who groped her, according to police.
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In the videos, the teen can be seen yelling at a man, throwing a punch and then getting sprayed. "You f*ucking touched me," she yells in the first video before a voice in the crowd responds, "I never touched her." After she's sprayed a person in the crowd grunts "Yea!"
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The girl, who was not identified by authorities, was taken to a local hospital to receive medical attention along with a 19-year-old woman who received second-hand spray, police said.
One local media report identified the girl as a protester and, in the video, she can be seen standing next to someone holding a "Black Lives Matter" poster.
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After the rally, police addressed the incident, confirming they are investigating the assault.
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Wisconsin State Journal reporter Molly Beck was next to the woman when the confrontation occurred and reported getting pepper spray on her as well.
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Mashable has reached out to the Janesville Police Department for more information.
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Topics Donald Trump Elections
Marcus Gilmer is Mashable's Assistant Real-Times News Editor on the West Coast, reporting on breaking news from his location in San Francisco. An Alabama native, Marcus earned his BA from Birmingham-Southern College and his MFA in Communications from the University of New Orleans. Marcus has previously worked for Chicagoist, The A.V. Club, the Chicago Sun-Times and the San Francisco Chronicle.
