Donald Trump summoned two men to the stage during a Feb. 16 rally in South Carolina after at least one of them physically confronted a Latina waving a pro-immigration sign in the audience.

It wasn't long before the woman was shown the door and her "Keep America Great; Keep All Immigrants" sign was ripped to pieces. On the way out of the Riverview Park Activity Center in North Augusta, she reportedly held up her middle fingers to the jeering crowd.

Word is Trump slowed his remarks as the scuffle broke out and welcomed both Jerry Black and Thomas Andrews to the podium immediately after the incident. He even briefly turned his microphone over to them.

"I love people with courage," the GOP front-runner said.

Trump Championed by the Crowd

"Do not let them intimidate you. You back this man right here to the hilt," Black, the man who fought with the woman, told the crowd of about 1,500.

Later, Andrews told the audience he had served two tours in Iraq and was convinced Trump is the person best equipped to serve as commander in chief.

"If it wasn't for Mr. Trump right here, I don't think any of us [veterans] would have the voice that we have," said the sheriff's deputy. "This is the only man that's going to really bring America back."

Though the GOP front-runner has started playing a recording in recent weeks warning supporters not to "touch or harm" protesters, he has repeatedly praised those who have acted violently.

Back in November, he told Fox News that a Black Lives Matter protester in Alabama who was choked and kicked by his supporters deserved what he got.

"Maybe he should have been roughed up," he said. "It was disgusting what he was doing."

Three months before that, two men identified as Trump supporters, inspired by his anti-immigration rhetoric, beat and urinated on a homeless Latino man. In the wake of the incident, Trump told reporters his supporters tend to be "passionate," adding, "They love this country and they want this country to be great again."

Polls Show Trump Well Ahead in South Carolina

Through it all, a recent CNN/ORC poll in South Carolina showed him with a 16-point lead over Sen. Ted Cruz, his closest challenger.

Trump leads Cruz by 20 points among evangelical voters, the very voting bloc Cruz used to capture the Iowa caucus just a month ago. Since then, Trump has emerged victorious in the New Hampshire primary.

"Even after Trump's debate performance, with all the dysfunctional behavior -- the next day his numbers were the same as before the debate," said Clemson University pollster David Woodard. "Go figure."

Watch Trump praise the men who removed the Latina protester:

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