PENDLETON, S.C. — President Donald Trump came to the T. Ed Garrison Arena in Pendleton, near Clemson, on Wednesday to boost Sen. Darline Graham two weeks before the Nov. 3 election, and the evening brought an airspace scare overhead and scuffles in the stands.
Shortly after 5:30 p.m., military F-16s went up to meet a small private plane that had strayed into the temporary flight restriction set up over Clemson for the visit, the North American Aerospace Defense Command said. The jets shadowed the aircraft until it touched down safely at an airfield nearby. NORAD has reported similar intercepts around other recent Trump rallies, including one over Cincinnati last weekend.
Inside the livestock arena, the president began speaking at about 7:08 p.m. and was interrupted by protesters within minutes. Officers led several people out over the course of the speech, and in one disturbance punches were thrown.
Outside, roughly 50 protesters had gathered along the road to the venue by mid-afternoon as traffic backed up.
Graham, appointed by Gov. Henry McMaster after the death of her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, in July, won the Republican nomination in a runoff with U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman. She faces Democrat Annie Andrews, a Mount Pleasant pediatrician.
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