South Carolina sheriff investigates assault on protester at Trump rally after the president praised the punch as 'great'

Protester Timothy McDaniel told police that an unidentified man put him in a headlock and punched him repeatedly around the head, neck and chest. The incident was logged as a simple assault in a report filed in the early hours of Thursday. An officer noted minor bruising, and the Anderson County Sheriff's Office has referred the case to an investigator. From the stage, Donald Trump called McDaniel a 'lunatic' and 'a very unattractive guy'.

Trump likened the man who threw the punch to Evander Holyfield, who had been present at the Pendleton rally.

Mahoning County deputies are also investigating an attack on a protester at Trump's October 12 rally in Youngstown, Ohio.

Trump claimed the protesters were 'a bunch of fakers' paid $250 each, without offering evidence.