Florida man arrested for slapping reporter's hand at Trump rally
Authorities in Florida say a man was arrested outside the arena where President Donald Trump made his reelection announcement for trying to slap a cellphone out of a journalist's hand.
The Orlando Police Department said Wednesday that 51-year-old Daniel Kestner is facing a battery charge for trying to slap the phone out of the hand of Orlando Sentinel reporter Michael Williams.
An arrest report says Williams was filming Kestner arguing with another man outside the Amway Center. In a tweet, Williams said he was recording Kestner, a Trump supporter, being kicked out of the arena Tuesday evening.
A Trump supporter tried knocking my phone out of my hand as I was recording him being kicked out of the Amway Center. #TrumpRallyOrlando #trumpinOrlando pic.twitter.com/p0IcqKCrSt
— Michael Williams (@michaeldamianw) June 19, 2019
Online court records showed no attorney listed for Kestner. The president has often incited ill-will toward members of the news media at his rallies in the past, decrying the press as "fake news" which illicit loud boos at his campaign-style gatherings.
In a separate incident, a man was arrested for disorderly conduct for shoving another man about a block from the arena.