[Microphone in front of crowd. Photo credit: Unsplash]

A man who rushed onto the stage during the National Speech and Debate Tournament (NSDA) finals on Thursday, June 19, at the EMC Expo Center in Des Moines, Iowa, sparked fear and chaos among hundreds of attendees.

During the final round of the Humorous Interpretation event, witnesses reported hearing the sound of “glass breaking” before an unfamiliar man appeared on stage. 

The intruder was carrying a backpack and wore a tank top and shorts.

The livestream captured the confusion onstage as the competitor, upon seeing the intruder, started to retreat backstage before instructing everyone to “run away” through the microphone. 

The man said, “Do you want to hear a joke? Knock knock,” referencing something from a previous round of the event. 

He then knelt down, apparently to retrieve something from his backpack. 

This action prompted most attendees to rush for the exits, fearing a shooting.

“Everybody froze, and then everyone was moving,” said Edward Workman, a teacher from Kansas who attended the event. 

In the ensuing chaos, hundreds of students were trampled, lost their belongings, and were separated from their friends. 

“It was like what you would see in a movie,” recalled Tommy Gray, a judge from Kansas City.

“Everyone was trampling over each other, everyone was running for the doors, people were falling over…someone fell on top of me, I fell on top of other people, lost my shoe…I was literally thinking to myself, I might die right now.” 

"The National Speech and Debate Association, posted a statement on their social media: “This afternoon, an unidentified attendee entered the stage during the Humorous Interpretation Finals, interrupting the round.

The individual has been subdued and removed from the premises.

There were no weapons involved, and no threats were made. The hall was evacuated and there are no reported injuries.

The rest of the venue has been swept for any potential threats by members of law enforcement. We understand the concerns people have, and we want to assure everyone that this is an isolated incident.”

The statement was met with overwhelmingly angry responses from students. 

One user commented, “I witnessed people limping out of that building and teammates holding their friends up as they run, there were injuries.” 

Another commenter declared that “we no longer feel safe at this tournament…attempting to cover this up is not right.” 

“The fact that this was even able to happen shocks me to my core.…do better,” yet another added.  

The man was apprehended by police and identified as 22-year-old Jayden Roccaforte from Wyoming. 

The Des Moines Police Department confirmed that he had no weapons in his possession. 

He was charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance and one count of disorderly conduct.  

The NSDA tournament brings together thousands of talented high school students from across the country for one of the most prestigious speech and debate tournaments in the United States.. 

Thursday’s event marked the tournament’s 100th anniversary.  

The NSDA later uploaded another post promising to implement bag checks and metal detectors, limit entrance points, and increase security for the safety of their competitors.

The organization has not yet announced whether the remaining tournament events will proceed as scheduled.