A man described as a supporter of the Islamic State (ISIS) charged the stage at Dayton International Airport in Ohio where Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump was speaking at a rally on Saturday, prompting Secret Service agents to rush to the stage and bodily cover Trump.
The foiled assault on Trump came a day after rowdy protests led to the cancellation of his planned rally in Chicago, Bloomberg reported.
Trump briefly ducked at the podium as four Secret Service agents scrambled to surround him while other agents grabbed the man and hauled him away.
The man, identified by authorities as Thomas DiMassimo, was charged with disorderly conduct and inducing panic, according to People magazine.
Trump later tweeted that his would-be attacker was featured in an ISIS propaganda video uploaded to YouTube last year, Newsmax reported.
Trump claimed the man was an "ISIS supporter" who was released from jail by a judge.
"It was probably ISIS or ISIS-related," Trump said.
"This guy should be in jail right now," he said. "This is a guy who was looking to do harm."
Trump also pointed his finger at Democratic candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton as the ones who sent the rowdy protesters to his rally in Cleveland on Saturday afternoon.
Trump also blamed supporters of Sanders—whom he called "our communist friend"—for the incidents in Chicago on Friday where scuffles broke out between protesters and his own supporters.
The scenes in Chicago follow a series of recent incidents of violence at Trump rallies, in which protesters and journalists have been punched, tackled and hustled out of venues by Trump supporters.
Sanders struck back at Trump, describing the New York billionaire as "a candidate that has promoted hatred and division."
"As is the case virtually every day, Donald Trump is showing the American people that he is a pathological liar. Obviously, while I appreciate that we had supporters at Trump's rally in Chicago, our campaign did not organise the protests."
President Barack Obama also commented on the violence at Trump rallies, telling a fundraising event in Dallas, Texas, that political leaders "should be trying to bring us together and not turning us against one another."
In St. Louis, Missouri, Clinton also criticised Trump for his "ugly, divisive rhetoric" that encourages aggression and violence.
Senator Marco Rubio, one of Trump's rivals for the GOP presidential nomination, also took potshots at the real estate mogul, saying the presidential race has "become reality television."
"Last night in Chicago, we saw images that make America look like a Third World country," Rubio said. "If Donald Trump is our nominee, it will fracture the Republican Party," he warned.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich, another GOP presidential hopeful, said Trump had created a "toxic environment."
"And that toxic environment has allowed his supporters, and those who seek confrontation, to come together in violence," he said.
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, Trump's chief rival for the GOP nomination, called the Chicago incidents "sad."
Cruz accused Trump of inciting the restlessness that was seen in Chicago and other events.
"Any campaign that disrespects the voters and a campaign that encourages violence ... you create an environment that encourages this," Cruz said.
