Some twenty attendees at a Tucson, Arizona, rally for former President Donald Trump last week fell ill with mysterious symptoms shortly after the event, local media report. The affected—including a Latinos for Trump group appearing on stage—had all been seated on the side of the stage where Trump entered.
The impacted people reported experiencing symptoms including blurred vision and severe eye pain, along with swelling, redness, and peeling of the face—all appearing about half an hour after leaving the rally. Emergency room staff reportedly said multiple people from the rally had come in with similar complaints.
Pastor Eli Moreno, who led the invocation at the rally, suffered slight symptoms, while his wife Francesca’s vision started blurring on their drive home, and her face swelled up. Five days later, after an emergency room visit and a referral to an eye specialist, she was only just starting to recover.
Mayra Rodriguez—a former Clinton supporter now backing Trump—sought treatment for a severe headache and burning eyes. By the time she got to the emergency room, she could no longer open her eyes. She said,
The emergency room staff, from the triage nurse to the PA asked are you sure you didn’t get sprayed with something; your symptoms look like you got sprayed with something
For a couple of days afterward, she was unable to see. “I can’t see anything when I try to open my eyes. I see a bright light. It hurts, it hurts a lot to open my eyes. I have this cold cloth I put on and take off constantly. It’s horrible,” she told TV station KVOA.
Rodriguez told the Arizona Globe a physician informed her that she had suffered “chemical burns.”
A local realtor who attended the rally told KVOA that she had been forced to cancel all her scheduled business for the weekend due to blindness.
Opposition to Trump’s rally had been obvious in less tangible ways in the largely left-leaning city. Pima County Supervisor Adelita Grijalva—a staunch Harris supporter—posted a sign in Spanish on her social media account reading “F*** you MAGA, no more Orange” with the caption “Welcome to Tucson.” Despite harsh criticism from constituents at a Board of Supervisors meeting following the posting, Grijalva stood by her statements, accusing Trump of making “racist, misogynistic, sexist, inflammatory” comments for which, she said, he should apologize.
Neither the Tucson Police Department nor the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall, which housed the rally, responded to questions from local media.
The Trump campaign, responding to the reports, said in a statement: “The Trump campaign has been collecting information. We remain committed to the countless patriots that attend our high-energy, high-impact rallies across the country.”
