New York Times reported that Trump’s Ohio rally had empty seats. He says its reporters should be arrested for their ‘dishonesty and disservice’

A Sunday story in The New York Times said parts of the upper deck still had open seats when President Donald Trump finished speaking at a Saturday rally in Ohio. On Monday, Trump answered on Truth Social by saying reporters from the Times and other outlets should be arrested over that coverage.

Correspondent Katie Rogers wrote that “several areas of an upper deck were empty” by the end of his remarks. The event was held in the student center at Butler High School in Vandalia. Rogers noted that the student center holds 4,500 people.

Trump said that description was wrong. He said no seats were empty and that “thousands of people had to be turned away.” He then wrote, “The New York Times, and many other Artificial Media Outlets, should be arrested for their dishonesty and disservice to our Country.”

The president posted a video of people waiting in line and said upper sections were full

Trump also shared video of people waiting in line and wrote, “The Ohio Arena was already full to the brim – And yet these people were still trying to get in.” He has referred to the school venue as an arena in those posts. Trump’s complaints about the Times go beyond the rally story, as its reporters were also ordered to appear before a grand jury over Qatari Air Force One security concerns.  

In the same set of messages, he said news outlets build up crowds for Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, while playing down attendance at his own events. He has accused the Times of unfavorable coverage since his first presidential campaign.

A follow-up post pushed back on the empty-seat description more directly. “The Arena was totally MAXED OUT, including all upper sections,” Trump wrote. He added, “What does happen at all of my SOLD OUT Rallies, is that the people in the upper sections tend to migrate down to the Main Floor – The ‘migration’ process always happens!”

He also posted video of his walk to the stage, with people in the crowd chanting “USA” more than once. From the stage, he told attendees, “There are thousands of people outside [who] can’t get in. If you’d like to give up your seat, please, we can work it out, get out of here.”

The Ohio stop was also a campaign appearance for Sen. Jon Husted, a Republican facing former Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, in a reelection race. Former NFL coach Jon Gruden spoke as well and called Husted a friend who “will never quit.”

Separate from the rally dispute, the Justice Department over the summer subpoenaed phone records of several Times journalists and members of their families. The subpoenas against Times journalists were dropped after a federal judge later threatened to sanction attorneys. The requests followed reporting on security concerns Secret Service officials raised about a jet given by Qatar for use as Air Force One. The department withdrew the request within days.