A federal magistrate today approved Tommy DiMassimo’s request to travel to Atlanta on Friday and return Monday.
Faye DiMassimo, his mother, has held jobs with city and county government in the Atlanta area.
DiMassimo's attorney, Jon Paul Rion, has cited the First Amendment as a potential defense.
“Can the court restrict someone’s access to a political event?” Rion told the Dayton Daily News. “It’s a significant political issue in our mind”
DiMassimo has raised $340 from 10 people through a Go Fund Me page for his legal defense as of Wednesday afternoon. His funding goal is $25,000, our partners at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
DiMassimo was arrested March 12 after he vaulted a stage barrier and rushed to the back of the stage in a hangar near Dayton International Airport.
His Go Fund Me page says that he rushed the stage “not to promote violence, but to speak out against it.”
“In order for Tommy to join the national activist movement against Trump, he must raise 25,000 dollars for his legal team to be able defend his innocence in court,” the page says. “By supporting Tommy you ensure that there’s still a fighting chance to stop Trump before it’s too late.”
Trump tweeted after the event that Tommy DiMassimo had ties to ISIS, which the 22-year-old acting major denied.
DiMassimo told police that he didn’t mean to harm anyone, and simply wanted take a microphone and yell, “Donald Trump is a racist,” according to the report.
DiMassimo faces federal misdemeanor charges of illegally entering a “cordoned off and otherwise restricted area where a person protected by the Secret Service was temporarily visiting.” It carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $100,000 fine.
Recent hearings have been postponed as the two sides negotiate a plea deal.
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