Man Compares Trump Rally to Jonestown in Live Interview

A man at Donald Trump’s rally in Rock Hill, South Carolina, compared the gathering to the Jonestown cult during a live television interview, prompting correspondent Lucas Tomlinson to question whether he was a Trump supporter. Asked why he had come, the attendee said he had been too young to go to South America during the Jonestown massacre in the late 1970s and wanted to see a cult up close. Tomlinson repeated the reference in apparent surprise. The man affirmed it, then said there was nothing like seeing a cult up front. Tomlinson replied that the man might not be a Trump supporter and moved on to another attendee. The exchange was captured during a live broadcast from the rally. Though multiple reports described the same moment, they all relied on the broadcast itself. The comparison was the attendee’s political opinion, not an established characterization of Trump’s supporters. The man was later identified as Tom Hoyle, 57. In an interview with journalist Marisa Kabas, Hoyle said rally organisers had contacted MadPark Designs, a custom-printing business he co-owns, and that he registered with his real details after deciding to make trouble. He said he and a friend had...