During the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump on Saturday, 50-year-old Tony Hemker of Virginia was in the crowd. He went with his wife’s uncle, who had removed his hearing aids because they were near an overhead speaker, about 45 yards from the stage. When he heard the shots Hemker turned to the right, saw a bullet go through a speaker and it fell to the ground.
“As soon as that happened, I turned back to the left. My uncle had no clue what was going on, so when I turned back towards him, I put my two hands on his back and pushed on him and said, get down, get down, get down, get down,” said Hemker.
Hemker said it wasn’t until after the Secret Service yelled clear that he got back and up and saw Trump raise his fist into the air.
“Where his SUV was backed in, where they got him out, that was pretty near where we were. And I didn’t even see that part because I was just so in shock, disoriented. I just looked at my wife’s uncle and told him, let’s get out of here before anything else happens,” said Hemker.
While Hemker said it won’t deter him from ever attending a Trump rally again, the experience has changed him.
“For a second there I thought, you know, this is the end of the road for me. Because we were in the line of fire when this happened, so, I will say hug your loved ones, just live your day to the fullest, because, you just never know,” said Hemker.
As the crowd walked back to their cars, Hemker said there wasn’t much noise because they were all still in shock over what happened.
Hear the entire interview below.
