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Troopers Arrest Warwick Man, Providence Man for Trump Rally Assaults

[CREDIT: Roderick Webber] A still shot from a video by Roderick Webber of two men scuffling at the Trump Rally in Warwick April 25. The man on the left's face has been blocked out by Roderick. Both men in the scuffle have been arrested by State Police.
[CREDIT: Roderick Webber] A still shot from a video by Roderick Webber of two men scuffling at the Trump Rally in Warwick April 25. The man on the left’s face has been blocked out by Roderick. Both men in the scuffle have been arrested by State Police.
Warwick, RI — State Troopers have arrested a Warwick man and Providence man on assault and disorderly conduct charges following a scuffle started after the latter spit at the former outside presidential candidate Donald Trump’s rally at Crowne Plaza Hotel on Greenwich Avenue April 25.

State Police Superintendent Col. Steven G. O’Donnell stated in a release posted to the state’s website Thursday that the initial investigation by troopers assigned to the Trump rally security detail was inconclusive due to conflicting witness reports and the men’s lack of cooperation with officers.

However, following a review of videos of the incident RI State Police accessed via social media, O’Donnell reported, the two men, Josh Sandin, 19, of 51 King St., Warwick, and Alexander Carrion, 22, of 25 Iona St., Providence, were arrested April 27 and each charged with Simple Assault and Disorderly Conduct.

“The videos depicted a very volatile and tumultuous situation on Greenwich Avenue,” O’Donnell wrote in the release about the arrests.

According to O’Donnell, Carrion pushed his way through Trump supporters aggressively, moving toward Sandin, and spit into his face. Sandin and Carrion began pushing and shoving each other. As they were being separated by bystanders, Sandin spit at Carrion.

In a video of the incident posted to YouTube by Roderick Webber of Boston, MA, Sandin appears to throw a punch at Carrion during the scuffle at the 50-second mark:

Webber, who has been documenting Trump rallies across the US, said he blocked out Carrion’s face after several people began doxxing him – publishing personal information in the comments of the video.

Webber’s begun bringing a loudspeaker to the rallies to give Trump supporters and protesters an opportunity to communicate with each other without chanting or yelling, he said. He asks people using his loudspeaker not to swear and not to chant, but otherwise gives them the platform to speak their minds.

Trump’s Warwick rally was the 29th rally he’s filmed.

“For such a small rally, there seemed to be an awful lot of venom,” Roderick said.

That assessment differed from the description of peaceful protest from the center of the rally behind the building in an outdoor tent, reported by RIFuture.org’s Steve Ahlquist. Ahlquist noted that while an assault occurred, protesters were peacefully escorted from the rally.

Outside, Roderick said, “There was a certain sliminess that went above and beyond your regular Trump rally.”

Roderick’s video also shows a man attempting to steal a sign from another man, and documents a man who stole and smashed one of his cameras worth $200.

While Roderick said he’s concerned about that hooliganism, he’s more concerned about the anger displayed by the crowd and people’s apparent lack of interest in the opportunity he provided to clearly communicate their concerns.

Roderick described the crowd’s vitriol as a “gaping wound in the American psyche caused by Trump himself.”

“Someone’s got to work toward mending that,” Roderick said.

[CREDIT: Roderick Webber] A man attempts to pull a protester's sign, reading "Stop Hate" from his grasp at the Trump rally at Crowne Plaza April 25, tearing it in half. The man stopped as Roderick challenged him, asking if he was taking the man's belongings. "Yup," the man replied.
[CREDIT: Roderick Webber] A man attempts to pull a protester’s sign, reading “Stop Hate” from his grasp at the Trump rally at Crowne Plaza April 25, tearing it in half. The man stopped as Roderick challenged him, asking if he was taking the man’s belongings. “Yup,” the man replied.
Trump Rally assault 2
[CREDIT: Roderick Webber] A man approaches and reaches out to a protester bearing a sign reading “Stop Hate” during the rally for Donald Trump at Crowne Plaza April 25.
Trump Rally Assault 3
[CREDIT: Roderick Webber] A man pushes a protester bearing a sign reading “Stop Hate” during the rally for Donald Trump at Crowne Plaza April 25.
Trump Rally Assault 5
[CREDIT: Roderick Webber] A man reaches for Roderick Webber’s camera during the rally for Donald Trump at Crowne Plaza April 25.
Trump Rally Assault 6
[CREDIT: Roderick Webber] Roderick Webber holds out his hand and asks for his camera back after the man in gray, holding the camera in this photo, stole it from him during the rally for Donald Trump at Crowne Plaza April 25.
Trump Rally Assault 7
[CREDIT: Roderick Webber] Instead of returning Roderick Webber’s camera, the man in gray tossed it in the air several times, letting it hit the ground once, breaking it, during the rally for Donald Trump at Crowne Plaza April 25.
Trump Rally Assault 8
[CREDIT: Roderick Webber] After breaking the camera and snatching it from a woman who attempted to give the camera back to Webber, the man in gray tosses the camera into the crowd during the rally for Donald Trump at Crowne Plaza April 25.
Rob Borkowski
Author: Rob Borkowski

Rob has worked as reporter and editor for several publications, including The Kent County Daily Times and Coventry Courier, before working for Gatehouse in MA then moving home with Patch Media. Now he's publisher and editor of WarwickPost.com. Contact him at [email protected] with tips, press releases, advertising inquiries, and concerns.

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