More than 20 supporters of President Obama fainted at a campaign rally in Roanoke, Va., Friday night and required medical treatment.
Paramedics treated 21 people at the scene of the rally and took one person to a hospital, according to the Roanoke fire department. A pool reporter traveling with the president said it was a warm evening and the crowd of more than 3,000 people was “packed tightly” into a four-block area.
The president commented on some of the faintings during the course of his speech — he often tells people in crowds at his rallies to drink water. A pool reporter said there were “waves of exclamation” in the crowd as one person after another swooned.
Volunteers passed around cups of water at the rally, but some people didn’t take them, according to a deputy fire marshal.
The rally took place on a street in downtown Roanoke, in front of the old historic firehouse No. 1. It was Mr. Obama’s final campaign appearance of the day in Virginia; he began the day in Virginia Beach and will return Saturday for more campaigning in the Richmond area and in northern Virginia.
