‘It was just mass chaos’: Johns Island man recalls being at Trump rally during assassination attempt

JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCBD) – As the investigation continues into an attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, a Lowcountry man is recounting his experience while attending the Pennsylvania rally where the shooting happened.

“It’s just the excitement that our financial burdens of high gas prices and everything else, people see it coming to an end,” said Todd Gerhart, who explained the mood of those attending the rally and supporting the Republican presidential candidate.

Gerhart started a business selling “Make Honey Great Again” honey from South Carolina bee hives in bottles with former President Donald Trump’s likeness at his rallies.

“It’s just a lot of energy. A lot of kids running around- most of them said they’ve never been to an event like this and it’s just like coming to see The Beatles,” he said.

Or at least the political equivalent of that for supporters of former President Trump. But on Saturday, things quickly changed.

“I was probably 60 yards from the stage. He didn’t speak very long and all of a sudden shots rang out. I mean you knew what it was. There were 13 shots that went off,” Gerhart recalled.

He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“I looked to my left and saw the Secret Service running and jumping the fence to go up there to get this one offer. Probably within a minute to a minute and a half, there was a sense of easement that he was okay, and the snipers got him. People were running screaming and diving on the ground. Parents were grabbing their kids. I don’t wanna say dragging them, but it was just mass chaos,” he recalled.

Gerhart continued, “About 25 minutes go by — Secret Service comes out, and the next thing you know we heard sirens, and then in come the bomb trucks. They had found a suspicious package.”

Attendees had to leave everything and immediately evacuate the facility. Gerhart was not allowed back in to get his belongings until the next morning.

“That was the hardest part emotionally. Because time had stopped. And the carnage… you see the property is just destroyed with garbage, just stuff all over. I asked one of the troopers can I have a minute and he said absolutely. You just stand there with tears coming down your face.”

“The food still on the grills, the guys that did the food shut their grills off, and out we were escorted. There sits all the hotdogs and sausage. Americana- just a picnic, a family time to celebrate our future. And it was taken. People ask me, are you gonna continue to go? Well, yes, because if you don’t, then they won, whoever they is.”

Gerhart said he’s waiting to hear if he’s going to attend an indoor event in Grand Rapids, Michigan with the former president on Saturday.