On Friday March 11, the UIC Pavilion (located on the campus of the University of Illinois-Chicago downtown) was packed with supporters for the upcoming Donald Trump rally and anti-Trump demonstrators alike. While tickets for the event were free, capacity for the gathering had reached it’s maximum and tensions were running high amidst the crowd assembled.

One man, president of Young Leaders Alliance and 2016 candidate for City Council, 5^th Ward, Jedidiah Brown, rushed the main stage, tearing a Trump sign in half before guards identified as Secret Services escorted him to the main floor. Upon letting him go Brown attempted to jump the guard rail to allegedly accost an elderly man, but not before Jacob Ptak ‘16 could place him in a headlock and alert the security’s attention.

“After the announcement that [Trump] wouldn’t make the Chicago rally, Brown went over by this gated area and started yelling at this guy in the stands,” Ptak said. “He was ready to jump over the gate and attack this 70-year old man and something just took over me and I just had to go help him.”

Ptak narrowly avoided a punch from Brown after security broke the two apart. A video capturing the altercation has gone viral and has been broadcast by major news networks such as Fox News to John Oliver’s late night show as well as various Twitter posts and internet forums.

Ptak’s friend and fellow supporter at the rally, Reed Doubek ‘16, said the fallout from the video has been met with mixed views.

“We’ve seen a fair share of both sides,” Doubek said. “Some people are saying he’s a hero and all that, but at the same time if you look at some of the stuff the media doing with it—they’re putting him in such a negative light, and some outlets have shown him as a protestor when he was actually there to support Trump.”

According to an article in NPR Brown’s main goals in opposing Trump at the rally were to shut down the event and spread the message that “America is already great—without the hate,” with no mention for the reasoning behind a supporter putting “him in a headlock.”

While Ptak has no regrets regarding the clash between himself and Brown, he could live without all of the attention the video has incurred nationally and amongst his fellow peers.

“I didn’t really want to be on t.v.,” Ptak said. “I was trying to protect this older man and the backlash it’s created at school has been annoying with people coming up to me all the time, but I guess I wouldn’t really change anything. I just couldn’t see that guy get punched.”