A man who stormed the stage at a debate tournament was so good that he caused a stampede and was arrested. Talk about being convincing.
The National Speech and Debate Tournament in Des Moines, Iowa, claims that 22-year-old Jayden Roccaforte wasn’t supposed to be in attendance. According to them, his impromptu appearance on the stage was unplanned.
During the event, Jay took to the stage and began a weird performance. Swaying in front of the mic, footage shows his bizarre act. Already, people are on edge due to his behavior. Taking things a step further, he shouts, “You wanna hear a joke? Knock knock” into the microphone.
Someone in the audience voices that maybe they should run. There are far too many mass shootings in the US for anyone to take chances. But, it’s as the young man reaches into his backpack that a panic and stampede are triggered at the high school debate.
Nobody wants to risk it, and the audience panics and runs from the room.
High School Debate Skills Disaster
As Jay looks to pull something from his bag, the students run from the auditorium in fear. Police were immediately called to the debate, and Jay was arrested. No weapon was found on his person, and he was charged with two counts of drug possession and disorderly conduct.
The high school has tried to distance itself from the young man by claiming he wasn’t invited and arrived independently. However, these claims are quickly being debunked. Jay was seen on the campus with an official lanyard, only obtainable as an invited guest.
Multiple screenshots also show him in a group chat for the event, only being removed after his performance at the high school debate. Multiple sources have also told Cowboy State Daily that he was on the coach to the event with them.
In any other country, this kind of behaviour at a high school debate wouldn’t cause a panic. But, due to the incredible number of school shootings in the US, people live in perpetual fear of being murdered at places like these.
His debate tactics were certainly unorthodox, but he had no weapon, and apart from causing a panic, he didn’t do anything wrong.