Published  Updated 1:06 am EST, November 6, 2016 49 Comments By  
The Hillary Clinton supporter at the center of the incident that sparked the Secret Service to rush Donald Trump off a Reno, Nevada rally stage claims he’s a Republican who was just holding a sign.
Austyn Crites, 33, was holding a “Republicans Against Trump” sign when he found himself in the center of the commotion. On Facebook, he refers to Trump as a fascist and a dictator and admits he’s supporting Clinton.
Crites, who was questioned and later released, was rushed out of the Nevada rally by law enforcement in a dramatic scene as Secret Service agents suddenly pulled Trump off stage when someone shouted “gun.” However, no gun was found.
One reporter said that people might have mistaken a sign Crites was holding for a weapon. Crites told a BBC reporter he was “saved” by the police. The incident comes as the polls are very tight in Nevada, with Trump leading slightly in the margin of error in polling averagesand ahead by more in recent polls, but early voting tallies leading some experts to predict the state will go for Clinton. If Trump loses Nevada, his pathway to the presidency gets a lot tougher.
Here’s what you need to know:

1. Crites Says on Facebook That He’s Voting for Hillary Clinton & Calls Trump a Fascist

critesfb
Crites’ Facebook page indicates that he’s a Republican who is voting for Hillary Clinton. Shortly after the incident at the rally, Crites replaced the cover photo with one of an American flag. The original cover photo referred to Nevada Republicans proudly voting for Clinton. See:
Austyn Crites
Crites’ Facebook cover photo.
A short time after the rally incident, Crites posted on Facebook that he voted for Clinton, canvassed for her, and donated money to her, and called Trump a fascist. He wrote in part, “Though I do not agree with many of Hillary’s policies, we cannot allow a fascist/dictator to take our beloved freedoms to simply boost his ego and ‘get back’ at anyone who disagrees. Take what happened to me tonight as a classic example of dictator incitement of violence – against your own Republican brother with a stupid sign.”
critespost
People filled his comment thread with insults and name calling, with one calling him a “Clinton mole.” Crites changed his Facebook page profile picture to say “Beat But Never Broken”:
critesprofile
On November 4, the day before the rally, he wrote on Facebook, “Time to get out and vote y’all!
I understand that this election has people torn, but we must chose HOPE over HATE!”
Some of his Facebook comments to friends are in Spanish. Crites’ page only has two posts on it.

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2. Crites Has Been a Registered Republican Since 2011

Although some Trump supporters have speculated that Crites could be a Democratic plant,Crites has been registered to vote as a Republican in Nevada since 2011.
One man with the same last name as Crites wrote on Facebook after the rally, “Bro, we support you. It’s a sad day when a devout republican, eagle scout, lover of our country and all that it stands for, stands up again a threat to our nation, and get’s his ass beat as a result. We love you and back your decision to voice your concern!”
After the incident, some Trump supporters raised the Project Veritas undercover video allegations from earlier in the year that allegedly showed Democratic operatives planting people to incite violence at Trump rallies. As CNN put it, “an edited video suggested that he (Robert Creamer) and other staffers hired people to attend Donald Trump’s campaign rallies and incite violence.” The “he” refers to Robert Creamer, a prominent Democratic operative who had visited the White House many times and was assisting the Democratic National Committee with the Clinton campaign.
However, there is no evidence that Crites is tied to any of that and, as noted, records show he’s been registered as a Republican since before Trump announced he was running for president.
Internet sleuths quickly found the name “Austyn Crites” in a WikiLeaks file:
Some in the media blamed Trump for the climate at his rallies.
The Clinton campaign has denied being involved in planting people to incite violence at Trump rallies.

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3. Crites Is an Entrepreneur Who Designs Balloons

Austyn Crites. (LinkedIn)
Austyn Crites. (LinkedIn)
In 2014, NWI.com said Crites was involved in a local startup that was “hoping to give regular people the chance to start their own ‘space program’ with its high-altitude balloons, capable of floating as high as 80,000 feet.”
LiveScience said of Crites, who ran a company called RockZip: “Like Ford before him, Crites seeks to revolutionize an industry that’s been around for a while.” Crites called his work a “new space movement.”
Online information about Crites describes his passion as balloons, not politics.
On LinkedIn, Crites says he is a “professional in cutting-edge aerospace inflatable design and manufacturing.” He also says he graduated from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

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4. Trump Soon Returned to Stage & No Gun Was Found

trump reno photos
Supporters and media get into a bit of a shoving match while tensions are high after Secret Service escorted a man out of a Trump rally. Trump was rushed off stage after supporters pointed out someone who looked very suspicious. (Getty)
Within five minutes, the Republican nominee returned to the stage after thanking the Secret Service and promised not to be deterred. He later released a statement:
CNN said the incident started because an “unidentified individual” shouted “gun” in the audience, adding that a “thorough search” resulted in no weapon being found.
Trump’s son retweeted a tweet referring to the incident as an assassination attempt.
The Secret Service statement does not indicate that Trump was ever really in danger.

5. Crites Told a Reporter He Was Punched & Kicked & Feared for His Life

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Police officers and U.S. Secret Service rush a man in handcuffs out of a campaign rally for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center November 5, 2016 in Reno, Nevada. (Getty)
A Guardian reporter, Paul Lewis, posted details from an interview he did with Crites:
Crites told NBC16 “When I pulled out the sign, people around me were trying to grab the sign. And so all that was occurring was booing, of course, that’s what you would expect.”
He told the TV station the situation suddenly escalated: “…bam, I get tackled by all these people who were just, like, kicking me and grabbing me in the crotch and just, just beating the crap out of me.” Then, he said, somebody yelled about a gun and “things really got out of hand.”
Crites also gave an interview to the BBC.
See more videos from the incident here:

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Jessica McBride is a Heavy contributor. She was a crime, government, and breaking news reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and reporter for the Waukesha Freeman newspaper. Her award-winning work has appeared in numerous magazine, newspaper, and online publications. She has also appeared as a crime reporter on Investigation Discovery Channel, History Channel, and Oxygen Channel. She can be reached by email at jessica.mcbride@heavy.com. 
November 6, 2016 1:06 am