YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — The woman who was attacked by rally-goers at President Donald Trump's October 12 rally at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown has identified herself publicly for the first time as Blake Miley, 29, The New York Times reported on Saturday.
Source: The New York Times, reported Oct. 24, 2026 (via Opera News summary)
Miley told the Times she stayed up past 4 a.m. the night before the rally cutting out felt letters for a T-shirt that said 'RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES.' At the rally, held in support of U.S. Senator Jon Husted and gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, she stood up midway through the speech, revealed the shirt and shouted 'Fascist, fascist,' the Times reported. Video of the episode shows a man grab for her neck and shove her backward, and another man pull her to the ground, put her in a headlock, yank her hair and punch her in the face, according to the Times' account of the video. She said she was hit twice and could not get up until Mahoning County sheriff's deputies intervened about 30 seconds into the brawl.
From the stage, Trump mocked her as she was attacked, calling her 'scum' and 'low-class' and repeatedly referring to her as a man, including calling her 'a fat guy,' the Times reported. Miley told the Times: 'I knew there was a really good possibility that this would happen. But I don't blame myself. It is not right what they did to me.' She said she suspects that no one in power much cares that she was beaten up, the Times reported.
Miley is now being represented free of charge by prominent civil rights attorney Subodh Chandra, the Times reported. Chandra told the Times he has been in contact with Mahoning County Sheriff Jerry Greene and believes investigators are 'trying to do their jobs.' If no arrests materialize, Chandra noted, Ohio law allows private citizens to bring charges before a judge for review, according to the Times.
Greene said investigators have identified three men who took part in the assault, including a New Jersey man, WFMJ reported in coverage summarised on Saturday. Two of the men are from the local area, and the sheriff's office has contacted all three; the two local suspects requested legal representation for their interviews, and authorities coordinated with a New Jersey police department to arrange an interview with the third man, according to WFMJ's reporting. Greene said the investigation began into 'the three individuals who wrestled with her — particularly the one who punched her.'
Source: WFMJ, reported Oct. 2026 (via summary)
No charges have been filed. Greene said he is still waiting on Miley's emergency room records to determine whether the case rises to felony charges or stays at misdemeanors, according to the Times' reporting. The sheriff said his office has fielded as many as 800 phone messages from callers about the case, and that body camera footage shows his deputies were pushing through the crowd toward Miley and never saw the punch land, the Times reported. The men identified by investigators are alleged to have taken part in the attack; they have not been charged, and no finding of guilt has been made against any of them.