‘Now there’s a stampede’: Chaotic scenes emerge amid evacuation order at Trump’s fair

A number of journalists reporting on the ground at the Great American State Fair have shared video of chaotic scenes unfolding after an evacuation order was issued due to severe weather, chaos sparked by “several hundred” attendees who refused to leave the National Mall.

“Look, look, it’s a stampede, they’re jumping over the things, people are falling down right over here!” said controversial far-right journalist James O’Keefe, reporting from the National Mall in a video uploaded to social media Saturday evening. “They evacuated everything, and now there’s a stampede!”

A Severe Thunderstorm Warning was issued Saturday night, leading local law enforcement officials to order fair attendees to evacuate. The Secret Service suspended security screenings at the fair and urged attendees to “move to shelter immediately.”

According to several journalists reporting on the ground, however, a number of attendees have refused evacuation orders.

“Chaos right now on the Washington Monument ground as the Secret Service tells everyone to leave, then someone says ‘mic check’ on the stage and people rush back in,” wrote CBS News’ Tony Dokoupil on a social media post on X.

Savanah Hernandez, a contributor for the conservative advocacy organization Turning Point USA, shared video of a chaotic scene showing attendees “chanting ‘USA USA’ and attempting to run back into the ‘Salute America’ event.”

And Joe Khalil, Capitol Hill correspondent for NewsNation, shared video showing the National Mall cleared of attendees, but only after the involvement of the National Guard.

“A lot of people were not leaving when directed by staff and by the announcements on the loudspeaker,” Khalil wrote in a social media post, sharing video of the scene at the National Mall.

“The National Guard teams just now cleared the mall. Everything was gentle. Smooth. But it took the Nat. Guard’s presence to finally evacuate the mall area.”