A story broke about a week ago that had folks wondering if someone launched a third attack on former President Donald Trump during a rally in the state of Arizona after audience members began to complain of various illnesses and symptoms, including temporary blindness, worrying folks that there might have been some kind of chemical weapon unleashed during the event.
According to a new report from The Western Journal, the official story is now that there was not a chemical attack at the rally. Three doctors, who have had interviews with major media networks have stated that there was not likely any sort of chemical agent involved in the incident. I mean, I want to believe them, but things have been so nutty in our country over the last several years, particularly during this election cycle, it feels like the tinfoil hat is firmly glued on my scalp.
According to KOLD-TV, a “handful” of individuals who sat behind the president at a Tucson, Arizona, rally on Sept. 12 said that they had experienced eye issues. Many of them were reported to be with a group called “Latinos For Trump.” One of the individuals sought medical attention due to what she described as “unbearable pain.” KOLD noted that, in multiple media reports, “the same attendee claimed a nurse asked her if she had been sprayed with chemicals.”
However, both the Tucson Police Department and Tucson Fire Department said they hadn’t received complaints “of any type of eye injuries or facial burning as described in some media reports.” The fire department did note that it responded to over 40 heat-related calls before and after the GOP nominee spoke, leading to at least 10 people being admitted to the hospital.
As you can probably guess, there’s been a ton of speculation on social media about what really happened that day:
NEW: 20 Trump rally attendees in Tucson, Arizona who were on stage with Trump, fell sick with "mysterious symptoms."
According to the Arizona Globe, members of "Latinos For Trump" were rushed to the hospital with a mysterious illness.
The individuals who were infected were all… pic.twitter.com/hGxP6FiDNh
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) September 19, 2024
🚨BREAKING: During Trump’s Tucson, Arizona, rally about 20 attendees reported becoming ill with mysterious symptoms such as blurry vision and swelling shortly after the rally concluded. pic.twitter.com/yJSmnt2VeQ
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) September 19, 2024
The three doctors spoke with the U.K.’s Daily Mail and said that the injuries audience members sustained were not likely due to any kind of sabotage. Two out of the three say that the issues these folks experienced was because of some issues with air conditioning units in the venue. The third said it was because of the lighting near the stage.
The two-doctor majority behind the AC theory believed that it might be a problem with the system “either blowing too strongly and drying out attendees eyes or blowing a fine dust into their eyes that caused irritation and damage.”
“A third suggested, however, that it was most likely to be a faulty stage light that had caused the illnesses after blasting strong UV light onto the attendees throughout the one-hour and 18-minute rally,” the outlet pointed out. The Secret Service says no threats were made against Trump’s life at the rally, but you know, they’ve really not proven themselves to be super competent and reliable, so who knows if this is accurate or not.
“The Trump campaign has been collecting information. We remain committed to the countless patriots that attend our high-energy, high-impact rallies across the country,” the campaign said in a statement, according to the Daily Mail’s report on the situation.
One reason the three doctors don’t believe the injuries were the result of a chemical attack is because of the delay in experiencing symptoms. If pepper spray or some other chemical agent had been released into the audience, it would have presented symptoms almost immediately.
C. Douglas Golden wrapped up his report by saying, “In this case, however, any malicious intent seems to be unlikely, given how the injuries presented themselves and the most likely medical causes behind them. Nearly two weeks of investigation have yielded nothing in the way of any other likely answer to what introduced the eye injuries. Given those facts, it’s safe to say that any rumors of a third plot against Trump and his supporters is unfounded.”
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