A 15-year-old girl who was pepper sprayed after punching a man she accused of groping her at a Donald Trump rally in Wisconsin could now face disorderly conduct charges, police said.
During a press conference Thursday, police said investigators used video, witness accounts and interviews and “determined that no sexual assault occurred” before the teen girl threw a punch at a 59-year-old man in the Janesville rally crowd.
The man who was punched declined to press charges, police said, but detectives referred the girl to juvenile authorities on disorderly conduct charges.
The identity of the man who pepper sprayed the girl following the punch is still not known, authorities said.
Earlier this week, the teen girl told police a man groped her and when she pushed him away another person in the crowd sprayed her with pepper spray.
A 19-year-old woman from Madison also suffered injuries from second-hand pepper spray during the incident, authorities said. Both received medical attention at local hospitals.
The Janesville Police Department released a photo Wednesday in connection with the possible assault and asked for the public's help in identifying the man pictured. The man in the photo, who police believe may have deployed the pepper spray, is wearing glasses and a red "Make America Great Again" hat.
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Video of the incident posted on YouTube appears to show a girl upset because a man in the crowd allegedly touched her breasts.
The man denies the girl's claim as the crowd shouts around them. At one point, the girl lunges, swinging her arm toward the man and someone sprays her face with pepper spray. The girl is then seen leaving the crowd.
A man who gave his name as Dan Crandall, of Milton, identified himself to the Wisconsin State Journal as the Trump supporter who was punched. The man said he never touched the girl and claimed many in the crowd also disputed her allegation.
Roughly 1,000 people attended Tuesday's rally inside the Holiday Inn Express and Janesville Convention Center and another group of about 1,000 supporters and protesters remained outside the venue, police said. About 350 law enforcement officers were also at the scene.
The pepper spray confrontation is the latest incident in a series of altercations reported at Trump events. It also follows news that Trump's campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, was charged with simple battery stemming from an incident with a reporter earlier this month. Lewandowski allegedly grabbed the reporter's arm after a news conference, causing bruising. Trump and his campaign have denied the allegation against Lewandowski.
Anyone with information on the pepper spray incident is being asked to call the Janesville Police Department at 608-755-3100 or Janesville Area Crimestoppers at 608-756-3636.
