Bradley K. Skurman
2016-11-07 10:46:23 UTC
RENO Life was fairly normal for Austyn Crites until Saturday
night.
The 33-year-old, Eagle Scout and high-altitude balloon inventor
was by his own account a fairly average guy. He wasnt famous
or infamous and his face certainly wasnt plastered all over
international media.
That is, until the Donald Trump rally on Saturday in Reno.
For someone like me, this particular event will in fact change
the rest of my life, Crites said in an interview with the Reno
Gazette-Journal. To what extent, thats still yet to be seen,
but Im very cognizant that there is going to be a portion of
the U.S. population that is going to doubt my true intentions no
matter what I say. No matter what background I have, there will
always be people who feel that Im a sellout or something like
this.
Crites, who identifies as a Republican, went to the rally with a
Republicans Against Trump sign with the intention of
protesting the presidential candidate. He never expected what
would transpire.
As Trump called him out from the podium, accusing him of being a
Democratic plant, Crites made his way to the front. Confusion
ensued and Crites ended up on the ground. Someone yelled he had
a gun.
Trump was whisked off stage by Secret Service as the crowd
scattered. Crites was hauled away and just like that, everything
was different.
Its interesting how a life can change so quickly over
exercising freedom of speech with one sign, he said. There are
people who carry signs all over the place and probably make
thousands of Facebook posts and make dozens of speeches and such
and they get almost no media attention and it doesnt affect
their lives.
Trump staffers, supporters and alt-right websites wasted no time
in attacking Crites. Campaign manager Kellyanne Conway made the
rounds on Sunday television calling him a Democratic plant.
Dan Scavino Jr., Trumps social media director, and Trumps son
Donald Trump Jr. retweeted a man who called it an assassination
attempt.
Conservative-leaning websites denounced the reporting on Crites
as a hoax and part of the mainstream medias attempt to elect
Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Other sites published
theories about him and his brother committing voter fraud.
The Gateway Pundit offered all this plus his appearance on
WikiLeaks which has published thousands of emails related to
the Clinton campaign as proof positive that Crites was nothing
more than a shill.
Austyn Crites is likely a filthy birddogger for Hillary,
wrote Joe Hoft in a post on the site. Hoft did not respond to an
email request for comment.
Crites said his only real issue with the negative coverage is
people accusing him of attempting to kill Trump, a patently
false allegation that could be dangerous.
That is an extremely reckless title to put on somebody who
loves the nation and would never do anything like that, would
never even think of doing anything like this, he said.
The rest hes tried to take in stride. Anyone can be labeled an
agitator or plant, Crites said, but hes been a Republican for
about six years now, previously voting as a registered
nonpartisan. He registered as a Republican in 2011, according to
Washoe County public records.
Hes already voted this year for Clinton based on his distaste
for Trump, but also for several Republicans including U.S. Rep.
Joe Heck for Senate and U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei for House, he
said. Crites said part of the reason he respects Heck so much is
because of Hecks denouncement of Trump after recordings
surfaced of Trump describing sexually assaulting women. Heck
declined to comment on Crites while Amodeis office did not
respond to a request for comment.
During the caucus, Crites said he supported Florida Sen. Marco
Rubio. He also donated to Texas Sen. Ted Cruzs campaign and to
Evan McMullin, the independent anti-Trump candidate from Utah.
He said hes never even been to a Clinton rally, though did
attend Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaines rally
on the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno in September.
The Nevada Republican Party declined to comment.
His name does appear on WikiLeaks as part of a breach into
Stratfor a global intelligence company whose servers were
hacked in 2012. Crites got on the list by subscribing to the
Mauldin Economics newsletter. One of the contributors to Mauldin
Economics is George Friedman, the former chairman of Stratfor,
and Crites purchased his book The Next Decade.
However, the ugliness didnt stop at simple accusations. Crites
personal information was posted to websites, including the
Facebook group The Deplorables a pro-Trump group where a
user posted Crites address.
He said he cant keep a Facebook account right now because every
time he starts one, it is reported and deleted not to mention
all the fake accounts purporting to be him.
His family was also caught in the fray as his parents
information was leaked online. His brother and sister-in-law
were also targeted.
My husband caught it worse because he shares a last name, but
weve been getting a lot of direct messages with threats saying
theyre going to come get us and our family and when Trump
becomes president hes going to have us killed. Threats like
that, said Jolene Hayes, Crites 33-year-old sister-in-law who
lives in Alameda, Calif.
Its always really scary to see your personal contact
information spread out against trolling groups, Hayes
continued. Especially when I have a one-year-old at home. My
daughter is here and theres threats against me and my family.
The Reno Police Department is aware of the threats against
Crites and provided area checks for the neighborhood where he
and his family live. So far, nothing has happened. Hayes also
said her family requested police watch their neighborhood in
Alameda.
Whats next for Crites is uncertain with the election two days
away. He feels like he made the right move and said he doesnt
regret it or hold any hostility toward the people at the Trump
rally.
I respect their supporting Donald Trump or whatever candidate
they support, he said. Thats OK. And in fact the people who
are at that rally, many of them are some of our nations
greatest patriots because they care enough to show up to these
rallies when other people couldnt find the time to do that.
All he wanted to do was show his sign.
The Trump campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
Imagine that. An Eagle scout voting for Hillary Clinton, who
enabled a sexual predator husband and employed the wife of a
sexual predator husband. He didn't vote for Trump because Trump
was acting like a typical man.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/11/06
/trump-rally-protester/93407106/
night.
The 33-year-old, Eagle Scout and high-altitude balloon inventor
was by his own account a fairly average guy. He wasnt famous
or infamous and his face certainly wasnt plastered all over
international media.
That is, until the Donald Trump rally on Saturday in Reno.
For someone like me, this particular event will in fact change
the rest of my life, Crites said in an interview with the Reno
Gazette-Journal. To what extent, thats still yet to be seen,
but Im very cognizant that there is going to be a portion of
the U.S. population that is going to doubt my true intentions no
matter what I say. No matter what background I have, there will
always be people who feel that Im a sellout or something like
this.
Crites, who identifies as a Republican, went to the rally with a
Republicans Against Trump sign with the intention of
protesting the presidential candidate. He never expected what
would transpire.
As Trump called him out from the podium, accusing him of being a
Democratic plant, Crites made his way to the front. Confusion
ensued and Crites ended up on the ground. Someone yelled he had
a gun.
Trump was whisked off stage by Secret Service as the crowd
scattered. Crites was hauled away and just like that, everything
was different.
Its interesting how a life can change so quickly over
exercising freedom of speech with one sign, he said. There are
people who carry signs all over the place and probably make
thousands of Facebook posts and make dozens of speeches and such
and they get almost no media attention and it doesnt affect
their lives.
Trump staffers, supporters and alt-right websites wasted no time
in attacking Crites. Campaign manager Kellyanne Conway made the
rounds on Sunday television calling him a Democratic plant.
Dan Scavino Jr., Trumps social media director, and Trumps son
Donald Trump Jr. retweeted a man who called it an assassination
attempt.
Conservative-leaning websites denounced the reporting on Crites
as a hoax and part of the mainstream medias attempt to elect
Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Other sites published
theories about him and his brother committing voter fraud.
The Gateway Pundit offered all this plus his appearance on
WikiLeaks which has published thousands of emails related to
the Clinton campaign as proof positive that Crites was nothing
more than a shill.
Austyn Crites is likely a filthy birddogger for Hillary,
wrote Joe Hoft in a post on the site. Hoft did not respond to an
email request for comment.
Crites said his only real issue with the negative coverage is
people accusing him of attempting to kill Trump, a patently
false allegation that could be dangerous.
That is an extremely reckless title to put on somebody who
loves the nation and would never do anything like that, would
never even think of doing anything like this, he said.
The rest hes tried to take in stride. Anyone can be labeled an
agitator or plant, Crites said, but hes been a Republican for
about six years now, previously voting as a registered
nonpartisan. He registered as a Republican in 2011, according to
Washoe County public records.
Hes already voted this year for Clinton based on his distaste
for Trump, but also for several Republicans including U.S. Rep.
Joe Heck for Senate and U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei for House, he
said. Crites said part of the reason he respects Heck so much is
because of Hecks denouncement of Trump after recordings
surfaced of Trump describing sexually assaulting women. Heck
declined to comment on Crites while Amodeis office did not
respond to a request for comment.
During the caucus, Crites said he supported Florida Sen. Marco
Rubio. He also donated to Texas Sen. Ted Cruzs campaign and to
Evan McMullin, the independent anti-Trump candidate from Utah.
He said hes never even been to a Clinton rally, though did
attend Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaines rally
on the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno in September.
The Nevada Republican Party declined to comment.
His name does appear on WikiLeaks as part of a breach into
Stratfor a global intelligence company whose servers were
hacked in 2012. Crites got on the list by subscribing to the
Mauldin Economics newsletter. One of the contributors to Mauldin
Economics is George Friedman, the former chairman of Stratfor,
and Crites purchased his book The Next Decade.
However, the ugliness didnt stop at simple accusations. Crites
personal information was posted to websites, including the
Facebook group The Deplorables a pro-Trump group where a
user posted Crites address.
He said he cant keep a Facebook account right now because every
time he starts one, it is reported and deleted not to mention
all the fake accounts purporting to be him.
His family was also caught in the fray as his parents
information was leaked online. His brother and sister-in-law
were also targeted.
My husband caught it worse because he shares a last name, but
weve been getting a lot of direct messages with threats saying
theyre going to come get us and our family and when Trump
becomes president hes going to have us killed. Threats like
that, said Jolene Hayes, Crites 33-year-old sister-in-law who
lives in Alameda, Calif.
Its always really scary to see your personal contact
information spread out against trolling groups, Hayes
continued. Especially when I have a one-year-old at home. My
daughter is here and theres threats against me and my family.
The Reno Police Department is aware of the threats against
Crites and provided area checks for the neighborhood where he
and his family live. So far, nothing has happened. Hayes also
said her family requested police watch their neighborhood in
Alameda.
Whats next for Crites is uncertain with the election two days
away. He feels like he made the right move and said he doesnt
regret it or hold any hostility toward the people at the Trump
rally.
I respect their supporting Donald Trump or whatever candidate
they support, he said. Thats OK. And in fact the people who
are at that rally, many of them are some of our nations
greatest patriots because they care enough to show up to these
rallies when other people couldnt find the time to do that.
All he wanted to do was show his sign.
The Trump campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
Imagine that. An Eagle scout voting for Hillary Clinton, who
enabled a sexual predator husband and employed the wife of a
sexual predator husband. He didn't vote for Trump because Trump
was acting like a typical man.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/11/06
/trump-rally-protester/93407106/