Several supporters of former President Donald Trump complained of the same symptoms following his rally in Arizona last week.
The rally attendees in Tucson shared one thing in common – they all sat behind the Republican nominee as he delivered his speech at the Tucson Music Hall. And while many of the dozens allowed to sit behind Trump on the stage had no complaints, several experienced eye irritations that left them seeking emergency medical attention at the hospital.
“As soon as we left and we stepped outside my eyes were burning,” Mayra Rodriguez told KVOA.
Making the 90-minute drive from Tucson back to her home near Phoenix, Rodriguez felt her eye irritation warranted a trip to the emergency room. Rodrigues, once a Planned Parenthood director who made the switch and began to support Trump, was “nearly blind” by the time she spoke with KVOA reporter Chorus Nylander the next day.
“The emergency room staff, from the triage nurse to the PA [Physicians Assistant] asked are you sure you didn’t get sprayed with something your symptoms look like you got sprayed with something,” she said.
“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 described the morning after the rally.
Though doctors were unable to determine what had happened, the outlet reported that her symptoms had begun to improve by Tuesday. But others seated near Rodriguez at the rally reportedly also suffered similar eye irritation, including a local realtor who canceled her weekend showings because she was unable to see well.
Notably, the group seated on the opposite side of the stage behind Trump reported no issues.
“It kept getting worse and worse, my eyes were watering a lot, my nose started running then I started feeling my face get really flushed and my neck felt like it was on fire and it just progressed from there,” one woman said.
“It was all focused on my eyes, my eyes were red like hell you know, it’s unbearable. I couldn’t handle it,” the woman’s brother told KVOA.
The Trump campaign said it was investigating after Rodriguez informed them of the situation and a senior campaign advisor sent a statement to the outlet after inquiries, saying: “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.”
The U.S. Secret Service told the outlet they were not apprised of the situation at the rally and there was no known threat to the former president who has been the target of two failed assassination attempts.
