A man seen on video shoving, striking and pulling the hair of a female protester at President Donald Trump’s rally at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown, Ohio, on Monday, October 12, has been identified on social media as Russell Dickert. As of publication, no arrest has been publicly confirmed, and Dickert’s reported employer, Harsco Metals & Minerals, has not issued a statement.
What the Video Shows
The incident occurred while Trump was speaking about Ohio Democratic Senate candidate Sherrod Brown. Broadcast and crowd footage, which has since been widely shared online and was reported by outlets including Fox News and Al Jazeera, shows a woman wearing a black “Release the Epstein Files” T-shirt protesting from the crowd.
Video shows a man near her shoving her, striking her in the face, and grabbing her by the hair in an apparent attempt to push her toward the ground, while the surrounding crowd chanted “USA.” The woman was pushed back into the bleachers before police intervened, separated the two, and escorted her out of the venue. Footage shows the man remaining inside the arena afterward, where he was seen exchanging high-fives with other attendees. No officers appeared to detain or remove him at the time.
Trump Rally Ohio. A man pulls the hair and punches a female protestor in the face a few times, when she doesn’t fall.. assaulter motions for security to help. They dragged her out and did nothing to the man.
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u/Rube_Golberg in
MarchAgainstNazis
Trump’s Comments From the Stage
Trump addressed the disruption from the stage, initially appearing to believe the protester was a man. He told the crowd:
“He’s a paid protester… They’re scum. But he’s going back home to Mom… Look at him. Terrible. Don’t we love law enforcement? Oh, he’s gotta go on a diet! He’s a fat guy. Wow. Wow. Gotta go on a diet fast. We all do.”
The protester’s shirt referenced the ongoing bipartisan scrutiny over the Trump administration’s and Justice Department’s handling of the release of additional documents related to Jeffrey Epstein.
The Identification — What’s Confirmed and What Isn’t
Online, social media users identified the man in the video as Russell Dickert, pointing to a LinkedIn profile — since made private — that listed an “Electrical and Maintenance Supervisor” position at Harsco Metals & Minerals in Browns Mills, New Jersey, along with a U.S. Navy background. Screenshots of that profile have circulated widely, along with claims that the account holder had posted about the incident online before switching the profile to private.
It’s important to note what has and hasn’t been independently confirmed: the assault itself is documented on video and reported by multiple news outlets. The specific identification of the man as Russell Dickert, his employment at Harsco Metals & Minerals, and claims that he “bragged” about the incident online all originate from social media crowdsourcing and have not been confirmed by police, Harsco Metals, or any official source as of this writing.
No Statement From Harsco Metals; No Confirmed Arrest
Harsco Metals & Minerals had not issued any public statement about the incident or confirmed the employee’s identity as of publication. Social media posts describing Dickert as “hiding” refer to his social media accounts being set to private, not to any confirmed statement from him.
The Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office, which covers Youngstown, has reportedly received a high volume of calls about the incident, according to social media users, though this has not been officially confirmed. No arrest has been publicly announced.
Public Reaction
The footage has drawn widespread criticism online, with many commenters questioning why the man was permitted to remain inside the venue — and receive high-fives from other attendees — while the woman he struck was removed by police. Others have raised the question of how Harsco Metals & Minerals might respond if the identification is confirmed.
