Donald Trump
Donald TrumpReuters

North Carolina police considered investigating Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for incitement, after a protester was punched in the face during a rally last week.

Security guards escorted a similar protester out of a rally in February, after which Trump declared "I'd like to punch him in the face" and remarked wistfully on times when dissenters would be "carried out on a stretcher."

"We have reviewed the evidence accumulated" and found that it does "not meet the requisites of the law," said the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office. "The investigation with regard to Mr. Trump and his campaign has been concluded, and no charges are anticipated."

The North Carolina man who threw the punch is being charged with assault.

Trump later told NBC's Meet the Press, "I do not condone violence in any shape. And I will tell you from what I saw, the young man stuck his finger up in the air, and the other man sort of just had it."

He added that the assailant "obviously loves his country. And maybe he doesn't like seeing what's happening to the country"

Rival candidate Ted Cruz referenced the incident when a heckler told him to "go back to Canada." Cruz shot back, saying, "One difference between this and a Donald Trump rally is I'm not asking anyone to punch you in the face"