Donald Trump faced a tough crowd last night in Iowa City, leaving the stage early after constant boos, whistles, and even tomatoes thrown by protesters.
The tomatoes were thrown after the billionaire Republican front-runner called Vermont U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders a communist, according to Daily Iowan reporter Brent Griffiths.
Man just threw a tomato at Trump after he called Bernie Sanders a communist. #iacaucus
You can see the two tomatoes flying toward Trump in the first 10 seconds of this video:
Trump was in Iowa City last night, home of the state’s largest public university, attempting to woo young voters. But according to Iowans on the scene last night, Trump was forced to make an early exit just 40 minutes into his stump speech after constant disruptions from the crowd. One photo of the tomato thrown at Trump, apparently by a young man wearing a shirt that read “HEIL TRUMPLER 2016” is currently making its rounds on Twitter:
The man who threw the tomato at Trump was apparently arrested on the spot, and University of Iowa police later identified the man as Andrew Alemao and charged a $65 fine after he plead guilty to a charge of disorderly conduct.
In one particularly telling question posted on Quora.com, someone seeking legal advice asked what would happen if someone were to throw a tomato at Donald Trump during one of his campaign rallies. A former criminal prosecutor told the person posing the question that their action would likely result in criminal charges and financial ruin:
Q: If I went to a Trump rally and threw a tomato at Trump, what could the legal ramifications be?
A: Primarily, you’d probably be arrested and charged with assault. Secondarily, you might be sued in civil court by Trump, which would pretty much decimate your net worth.
Despite the potential criminal implications of the action, the reactions to the tomato-throwing on social media were overwhelmingly positive:
Someone threw a tomato at Trump last night while he was in Iowa City and I've never been more proud to live here
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