Here's a bit of welcome better-late-than-never news for anyone who marveled at the spectacle of North Carolina deputies wrestling a black protester to the ground after he had been sucker punched by a Donald Trump supporter at a rally last week. Disciplinary action has now been taken against five deputies with the Cumberland County, North Carolina, sheriff's office who were involved in the incident but didn't take proper action. Caitlin MacNeal reports:
Three of the deputies were demoted in rank and suspended without pay for five days, and two other deputies were suspended without pay for three days, according to Raleigh television station WRAL. All five deputies who witnessed the punch could face up to a year of probation.
"The actions of the deputies and their failures to act in situations such as that which occurred during the Trump rally at the Crown Coliseum have never been and will not ever be tolerated under the policies of this office," Cumberland County Sheriff Earl "Moose" Butler said in a Wednesday statement on Facebook.
The man who punched the protester, John McGraw, has also been charged with assault and battery and disorderly conduct for his actions at the Fayetteville Trump rally. Thank goodness for video, which captured the entire incident step-by-step—the punch, how police reacted, and McGraw’s wild thoughts after the incident.