Trump says journalists should be ‘arrested’ for reporting on empty seats at rally

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President Donald Trump suggested on Monday that reporters from The New York Times and other media outlets should be “arrested” following their coverage of his weekend campaign event in Ohio.

The backlash followed a report by New York Times correspondent Katie Rogers, who noted that “several areas of an upper deck were empty” by the time Trump finished speaking on Saturday at Butler High School in Vandalia, Ohio. Rogers reported that the school’s student center, which hosted the event, has a capacity of 4,500 people.

Trump disputed those account details in a series of posts on Truth Social, claiming the venue was full and arguing that empty upper levels were merely the result of audience movement.

“The Fake News New York Times ‘reported’ on my Great, PACKED Rally in Ohio that, ‘the place was not full. Some upper sections were almost completely empty,’” Trump wrote. “In actuality, thousands of people were unable to get in. The Arena was totally MAXED OUT, including all upper sections.

“What does happen at all of my SOLD OUT Rallies, is that the people in the upper sections tend to migrate down to the Main Floor — The ‘migration’ process always happens!”

In another post, Trump criticized media coverage of his crowd sizes relative to other political figures and called for legal action against journalists.

“The Ohio Arena was already full to the brim — And yet these people were still trying to get in,” Trump wrote. “The New York Times said, ‘There were empty seats’ when, in fact, there were none, and thousands of people had to be turned away. The New York Times, and many other Artificial Media Outlets, should be arrested for their dishonesty and disservice to our Country.”

He added: “When Bernie Sanders has 500 to 1,000 people, they make it sound like it’s the biggest event that ever took place. When PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP has 50,000 people, they make it sound like nobody showed up!”

Trump also claimed that he uses video recordings to counter media reports about his events.

“I have cinematographers shooting the various Arenas where I speak, in that some of the Fake News likes to dishonestly report lies and untruths,” he wrote.

He insisted that his events remain “HOTTER than ever” and described them as “happenings” that “will never be duplicated again.”

During the rally itself, which was held to support Republican candidate Jon Husted in his Senate race against former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown, Trump addressed the crowd size directly from the stage.

“There are thousands of people outside [who] can’t get in,” he said. “If you’d like to give up your seat, please, we can work it out, get out of here.”