Trump mocks a heckler's weight as his Youngstown crowd roughs up the protester

A heckler who interrupted President Donald Trump's Monday night rally in Youngstown, Ohio, ended up shoved, grabbed by the hair and pinned down by people in the audience. From the stage the president turned the moment into a joke about the protester's weight.

Trouble in the stands

The protester wore a shirt that read "Release the Epstein Files" and stood up to shout at Trump. Within moments several people sitting nearby went after the heckler.

Video from inside the arena shows a burst of pushing and shoving. One man yanked the protester's hair while others held the protester down. Among them was a man in a sweatshirt bearing the words "God's Got My Back."

Officers soon rushed over and hauled the protester out of the room.

The president's take

Trump told the audience the heckler had been paid by the left to disrupt the event. He then asked the crowd whether they loved law enforcement before poking fun at the protester's size.

He called the heckler a "fat guy" who needed to start a diet right away. Then he added that everybody in the room could probably stand to do the same.

Out in the lobby a reporter caught up with the protester and asked what had brought them to the rally. The answer was a curt profanity aimed squarely at Trump.

There was no word on whether anyone involved in the scuffle would face charges.

The race behind the rally

Trump came to Ohio to campaign for Republican Sen. Jon Husted. Husted is locked in a close fight with former Sen. Sherrod Brown as the midterm elections draw near.