Trump says The New York Times ‘should be arrested’ after it reported empty seats at his Ohio rally, insisting ‘I never have empty seats’

President Trump stated that reporters from The New York Times and other media outlets should be arrested for their coverage of his rally held in Ohio. The president expressed his frustration on Truth Social, where he shared a video showing people waiting in line to enter the event. 

As reported by The Hill, he insisted that the venue was entirely full and criticized the reporting that suggested otherwise. This latest confrontation stems from a report written by New York Times correspondent Katie Rogers. Rogers claimed that several areas of an upper deck appeared empty by the time the president finished his speech at Butler High School in Vandalia. The school student center, which served as the venue for the event, has a capacity of 4,500 people.

The president rejected the claims made by the publication, maintaining that there were no empty seats and that thousands of people had to be turned away from the rally. He wrote, “The New York Times, and many other Artificial Media Outlets, should be arrested for their dishonesty and disservice to our Country.” 

He also accused the outlets of inflating crowd numbers for Bernie Sanders 

In his post, the president also accused these outlets of inflating crowd numbers for Senator Bernie Sanders while intentionally downplaying the attendance at his own rallies. He followed up his initial post with another statement, writing, “The Arena was totally MAXED OUT, including all upper sections.” 

He explained that attendees in the upper sections often move down to the main floor as the event progresses. He noted, “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!”

During the rally itself, the president reportedly addressed the crowd regarding the capacity of the venue. He told the audience, “There are thousands of people outside [who] can’t get in. If you’d like to give up your seat, please, we can work it out, get out of here.” 

He also shared a video on social media of himself taking the stage while attendees chanted “USA” multiple times. The event featured support for Senator Jon Husted, who is currently involved in a competitive reelection battle against former Senator Sherrod Brown. Former NFL coach Jon Gruden also spoke at the event, describing Husted as a friend who will never quit.