Trump hustled off stage in security scare

Donald Trump was rushed off stage by the Secret Service during a rally in Reno, Nevada, when a disturbance broke out in the crowd close to the podium.

The Republican presidential nominee was removed mid-speech at around 9 p.m. ET. He looked into the crowd, his hand over his eyes to block the glare from the stage lights, when two Secret Service agents suddenly grabbed him and hustled him away.

Several members of the crowd described seeing a man, later identified as 33-year-old Austyn Crites, rushing toward the stage.

“It was like he was running forward to get to the front,” said a man who declined to give his name. “He was saying ‘excuse me, excuse me’, working his way to the front.” One woman, who gave her name as Lauren, said she saw the same man looking “wild eyed," according to the London Guardian.

A scuffle could be seen breaking out in the audience, and the Secret Service, local police and bystanders wrestled Crites to the ground.

“I saw a man to my right and then it looked like a fight broke out,” said Michael Newton, 45, who helped detain the man. “There were four or five guys on top of him. Then the people on top of him shouted 'he’s got a gun, he’s got a gun." That’s when I also jumped on top of him to help; we were all shouting to alert the Secret Service.”

One eyewitness said he believed a tightly folded poster had been misidentified as a firearm, reported the Guardian.

Donald Trump is rushed offstage at a Nevada rally.

"Immediately in front of the stage, an unidentified individual shouted "gun." Secret Service agents and Reno police officers immediately apprehended the subject," the Secret Service said in a statement.

"Upon a thorough search of the subject and the surrounding area, no weapon was found," the statement said.

Police officers, Secret Service agents and SWAT officers dragged Crites away as he kicked and struggled.

Crites, who was holding a "Republicans Against Trump" sign, was belligerent before Trump supporters jumped him, the Trump campaign told the Daily Mail.

"CNN sucks!" one Trump supporter yelled at the media gathered to cover the rally. "You people caused this!"

Police remove a man from the crowd after a disturbance at a Trump rally in Reno, Nevada, Nov. 5, 2016.

As he returned to his speech, Trump thanked a group of supporters near the stage who had stepped in to subdue his would-be attacker.

"You were amazing, fellas," he said.

"I saw what you were doing. That's a tough group of people right there … nobody messes with our people, right?"

Sign the precedent-setting petition supporting Trump's call for an independent prosecutor to investigate Hillary Clinton!

Upon his return, Trump also thanked the Secret Service.

"Nobody said it was going to be easy for us. But we will never be stopped. Never ever be stopped. I want to thank the Secret Service. These guys are fantastic."

He then returned to his regular stump speech. Trump is scheduled to speak later Saturday night at a rally in Denver.

Trump later issued a statement about the incident.

"I would like to thank the United States Secret Service and the law enforcement resources in Reno and the state of Nevada for their fast and professional response," he said. "I also want to thank the many thousands of people present for their unwavering and unbelievable support. Nothing will stop us – we will make America great again!"

Saturday's incident marked the third time Secret Service has had to intervene to protect Trump.

In March, a man leaped over a police barricade during a Trump rally at an airport hangar in Dayton, Ohio. Secret Service tackled him when he was still several yards away from the candidate.

Thomas Dimassimo, 22, was charged with disorderly conduct and inciting panic.

"I was ready for him, but it’s much easier if the cops do it, don’t we agree?" Trump said at the time.

In Las Vegas in June, a British man was arrested after allegedly trying to grab a gun from a police officer at a Trump rally and he later told investigators he wanted to kill Trump, authorities said.