"Light the motherf*cker on fire!" is something you'd likely hear at Burning Man or perhaps in a Bruce Willis action movie, but at a political rally?
On Monday, that's what GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump's supporters shouted at protester Ender Austin III as hotel security attempted to remove him from the event.
After Austin and his friends protested Trump's political policies—especially those pertaining to Muslims—security escorted him outside as supporters shouted threats and racial epithets.
In a video from Buzzfeed News' senior political writer McKay Coppins, a lone man in the background can clearly be heard shouting, "Light the motherf*cker on fire!" His exclamation creates a chain reaction from other attendees, who cheer in support.
And about ten minutes into the Trump rally, this happens. pic.twitter.com/65pXHjsJ3x
Coppins later reported that several of Trump's supporters attempted to subdue the protester before security intervened. Austin spoke with Buzzfeed News about why he and his friends attended the rally in the first place.
“We came to the rally tonight to make sure issues that matter to us were heard,” he said, adding that things escalated quickly once he started loudly questioning Trump on his policies.
“[Security] immediately used physical force," Austin said. "I absolutely was being disruptive, but as I was making statements I felt hands grabbing on me."
As to what he heard Trump's supporters shouting at him, Austin said, "What concerns me is that people were yelling racial epithets and hateful things. I heard the n-word a couple of times.”
Austin took to Twitter to share his experience at Trump's rally:
It was said @realDonaldTrump loves the constitution. If that is fact, why were my rights not protected last night at his rally?
What was i upset about? Muslims are being treated like other and not Americans.
Trump's rallies have increasingly become hotbeds where supporters and protesters clash over the GOP candidate's divisive politics. Still, he leads the national polls by 41 percent compared to his closest Republican competitor, Ted Cruz, who sits at 14 percent, according to The Guardian.
In September, the Pew Research Center reported that Trump supporters tend to be less educated and less economically secure than those who support other candidates. Thirty percent of Trump's supporters hold at most a high school degree and 33 percent earn $40,000 or less annually.
Austin did not immediately respond to NTRSCTN's request for comment.
