Video from outside President Donald Trump’s rally in Chillicothe, Ohio, prompted bystanders to accuse a man of stabbing a supporter. The man was handcuffed at the scene. But police say no stabbing occurred.
The footage appeared to show a pocketknife protruding from another person’s shirt. In the moment, people pointed at a man and shouted that he had stabbed someone. The scene led to an initial local news report describing an apparent stabbing. Those early accounts were based on what the video and witnesses appeared to show, before police explained the object.
Chillicothe Police Captain Michael Short later told TMZ that an officer had stepped in to break up a fight outside the Shoemaker Center at Ohio University Chillicothe. During the altercation, the clip securing the officer’s closed pocketknife caught on a person’s shirt, Short said. According to police, the knife did not open.
The account shows how convincing a brief clip and a crowd’s reaction can be, even when they do not establish what happened. The video does not determine who started the fight or whether the handcuffed man committed an offense. As of this report, no confirmed charge or motive has been reported.
The rally took place Wednesday, October 28. We will update this report if police release more information about the fight or anyone detained.
Sources: Rebecca Ritzel and Derek Myers (source footage); Chillicothe Police Captain Michael Short via TMZ; initial Scioto Valley Guardian report.
https://www.tmz.com/2026/10/29/cops-deny-trump-rally-stabbing/
https://sciotovalleyguardian.com/2026/10/28/person-stabbed-during-trump-rally-in-chillciothe/