“Down, duck! Clear a path”: What the sheer chaos looked like after Secret Service dragged Trump and JD Vance away from ballroom

In the ballroom of the Hilton Hotel in Washington DC, where US President Donald Trump was dining with more than 2,500 guests, the appetizer had just been served: peas with burrata. It was half past eight in the evening, local time. Suddenly there was a commotion in the lobby. A heavily armed man had sprinted past the metal detectors and wanted to force his way towards Trump and his entourage. Shots were fired. What followed was pure chaos. “Down, duck!” the guests shouted as they ducked under their tables. A reconstruction.

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