DES MOINES, Iowa — Organizers of the National Speech & Debate Tournament have added extra security measures following an evacuation during the event on Thursday.

Des Moines Police and the Polk County Sheriff’s Office were called to the tournament at the EMC Expo Center around 3:00 p.m. on Thursday. Witnesses say a man who got onto the stage alluded to having a bomb.

“He said the big knock-knock joke. People in the audience said, ‘Who’s there?’ because we thought it was part of the competition. Somebody said something about a bomb, maybe,” Briget Feeney Sherry, Speech and Debate judge from California, said. “He turned around and unzipped his backpack and then that’s when everyone gone down. That’s when everybody started crawling out, screaming and yelling. People are climbing over people. Complete chaos.”

Officers arrested and charged 22-year-old Jayden Michael Roccaforte from Cheyenne, Wyoming, in connection with the incident.

The Speech and Debate Association released a statement on Facebook following the incident.

“We, and local authorities, will continue to take every precaution to keep everyone safe and to keep this event a celebration of all the hard work our students, their coaches, and their families have put in over many months.

Our students are what makes this event such an incredible experience, and on Friday, we are giving competitors who want to continue the opportunity and platform to share their powerful messages, as we move forward together.”

The National Speech & Debate Association

Organizers have revised their schedule and implemented security measures to ensure everyone’s safety.

• Limited entry to the convention center to a single location
• Increase police presence
• Metal detectors at the entry point
• Implementing bag searches

Organizers say participants and attendees will wear their identifying ribbons and badges, or they will be denied entry. Individuals who are not registered will also be denied unless they are accompanied by an adult affiliated with a school attending the tournament.

You can also find the revised schedule on the Speech and Debate Website.