Category: Protesters

Men Brawl at Albany N.Y. Trump Rally

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Trump’s speech in Albany’s Times Union Center on Monday night was geared to stir up the loud, enthusiastic crowd, with the front-runner continuing on his tirade against the “crooked” GOP nominating process — with focus on his loss in Colorado on Saturday.

The intensity of the rally was vividly captured Monday when a Trump supporter was recorded on video shoving another man in the face twice during a raucous gathering in Albany, New York.

The man — who gave his name as “Mike” and said “hell, yeah,” he’s a Trump supporter — told NBC News he shoved the man because he was “yelling in my face.”

“I have my personal rights and my personal space,” he told the Albany Times-Union after the rally. “They’re going to start yelling about some bullshit, I’ll snatch your ass up.”

Video of the incident captured by several people shows the two men shouting at each other in the middle of a loud crowd. “Mike” lunges and shoves his right palm into the other man’s face, backs up, lunges and makes contact a second time before other people in the crowd wrestle the two men away from each other.

(h/t NBC News)

Reality

Trump, on multiple occasions, has defended violence against protesters, encouraged violence against protesters, and promised violence. It stands to reason that it is Trump’s actions and behavior that creates an environment where violence against protesters is acceptable.

Media

High Definition video of the encounter.

 

Trump Faults Protesters Over Violence, Not Their Assailants

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After his rallies in Arizona this weekend were marked by protests and violence, Donald J. Trump on Sunday complained of a “double standard” in coverage of those incidents and defended his campaign manager after video showed the manager grabbing a demonstrator by the collar and yanking him backward during a rally in Tucson.

The Tucson rally included one of the most violent confrontations yet at a Trump appearance, when a protester being escorted out of the arena by the police was sucker-punched, knocked to the ground and repeatedly pounded and kicked by a Trump supporter.

Asked about the incident on ABC’s “This Week,” Mr. Trump allowed that the beating was “a tough thing to watch,” but he refused to condemn the assault. He offered harsher words for the victim, saying he had been accompanied by another protester provocatively wearing a Ku Klux Klan costume.

“At what point do people blame the protesters?” he said, calling them “professional agitators.”

Mr. Trump also complained about a roadblock by protesters who sought to prevent his supporters from reaching a rally outside Phoenix on Sunday.

“I think it’s very unfair that these, really, in many cases professional, in many cases sick, protesters can put cars in a road blocking thousands of great Americans from coming to a speech, and nobody says anything about that,” Mr. Trump said, adding: “It’s a very unfair double standard” and that the protesters had been holding “horrible, profanity-laden signs” in the background as television cameras recorded his speech.

Mr. Trump added that police officers and security guards in the Tucson arena had been “a little bit lax.”

Reality

While it is true that a few protesters initiated violence, the vast majority of violence at Trump rallies is from Trump supporters. Trump, on multiple occasions, has defended violence against protesters, encouraged violence against protesters, and promised violence. It stands to reason that it is Trump’s actions and behavior that creates an environment where violence against protesters is acceptable.

According to the Washington Post the man in the Klu Klux Klan hood was a friend of the protester who was attacked, and it is not exactly clear what the intention of the protest was. Trump should stay away from a guilty-by-association fallacy with the KKK, with his family ties to the Klan and being in the same political party with David Duke and all.

Media

http://abc.go.com/shows/this-week-with-george-stephanopoulos/episode-guide/2016-04/03-040316-donald-trump-faces-tough-contest-in-wisconsin

Links

http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/03/20/donald-trump-faults-protesters-over-violence-not-their-assailants/

Trump’s Campaign Manager Involved in Altercation at Rally

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Donald Trump’s campaign manager appeared to grab a protester by his collar during a rally Saturday in an incident captured on video.

Multiple videos, including CNN’s footage, show campaign manager Corey Lewandowski reaching for the man’s collar as a member of Trump’s security detail also grabs him from behind.

“Corey Lewandowski was speaking with a protester at today’s rally in Tucson, Arizona when the individual he was speaking with was pulled from behind by the man to Lewandowski’s left,” Trump campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks said in response to a CNN inquiry, referring to a member of Trump’s private security detail.

“The video clearly shows the protester reacting to the man who pulled him, not to Mr. Lewandowski,” Hicks said, adding that Trump “does not condone violence at his rallies, which are private events paid for by the campaign.”

Lewandowski and the young man appear to exchange words in the moments before the altercation. Hicks said Lewandowski “simply asked the protester to leave.”

“Instead of exiting, the protester grabbed the woman in front of him (in the green shirt), which is when the man to Corey’s left and many others in the scene react to her wincing,” Hicks said.

The protester had been asked to leave once prior to the altercation, according to two sources familiar with the incident. He was able to gain entry back inside before Lewandowski and security removed him for a second time, the sources said.

Trump on Sunday called Lewandowski’s involvement in ejecting protesters “spirited.”

“Security at the arena, the police were a little bit lax. And he had signs — they had signs up in that area that were horrendous, that I cannot say what they said on the sign,” Trump said on ABC’s “This Week.” “I give (Lewandowski) credit for having spirit. He wanted them to take down those horrible profanity-laced signs.”

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said Sunday campaign officials should avoid “getting involved in confrontations.”

“Getting involved is not the answer. I think you leave these things up to the professionals. You’ve got professional police; you’ve got Secret Service,” Priebus told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.”

Reality

This is not the first time Lewandowski used physical violence on the campaign trail. He is turning out to be Trump’s #1 thug.

Protests at Trump rallies do not occur in a vacuum. Since he first announced his candidacy, Trump continues to make racist, sexist, and authoritarian remarks that marginalizes anyone who do not meet his view of white and conservative enough. A full list of protests can be found here.

Media

Links

http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/19/politics/trump-campaign-manager-protester/index.html

Trump Calls Rallies ‘Loud, Noisy Majority’ in Fountain Hills

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Republican front-runner Donald Trump swaggered into Arizona again Saturday, repeating his promises to build a border wall, renegotiate U.S. trade deals and generally “make America great again.”

Wearing a blue jacket and red golf hat as he addressed the thousands gathered in Fountain Hills Park, Trump made a final pitch ahead of Arizona’s presidential primary on Tuesday.

“Go out on Tuesday and vote. I will never let you down,” he told the crowd, which had waited for hours in warm sunshine. He referred to them as a “loud, noisy majority.”

Trump was joined on stage by Sheriff Joe Arpaio, former Gov. Jan Brewer and Treasurer Jeff DeWit. Former Arizona lawmaker and 9/11 “truther” Karen Johnson prayed to open the event.

Trump’s arrival was delayed by protesters who blockaded one of the main traffic arteries into Fountain Hills. And he was in a fighting mood as he deployed his signature name-calling.

Trump’s angry tone endured throughout his shorter-than-usual 30-minute speech, which also focused on immigration-related themes.

“I want to tell you so much about illegal immigration, and so much has been mentioned about it and talked about it,” Trump said. “And these politicians are all talk, no action, they’re never going to do anything. They only picked it up because when I went and when I announced I’m running for president, I said, ‘you know, this country has a big, big problem with illegal immigration.’ And all of a sudden, we started talking about it and then had lots of bad things happening. Crime all over the place and for the first time people saw what was going on.”

Trump’s rallies have consistently been targets of protesters who oppose his call for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States and his hard-line positions on immigration and rhetoric, such as when he called Mexican immigrants drug runners and rapists.

At times during Trump’s speech, protesters, who stood in a fenced area of the park, chanted in competition with supporters.

Early in Trump’s speech, a protester scuffled with supporters after he unfurled a banner reading, “Vets to Trump: End hate speech against Muslims.” Two Trump supporters slapped down the banner and the man was quickly escorted from the rally.

Media

Links

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/03/19/donald-trump-fountain-hills-tucson-arizona-rally/82007552/

Protesters Try to Block Access to Trump Rally in Arizona

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Traffic blocked to Trump rally by protesters in Arizona

Protesters in Arizona briefly blocked access to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s rally Saturday morning in Arizona, kicking off a full day of campaign events in the border state, which holds key primaries Tuesday.

The protesters blocked a highway leading to Trump’s outdoor rally in Fountain Hills, Arizona, near Scottsdale, before sheriff’s deputies removed them and towed their vehicles.

Maricopa County Sheriff Deputy Joaquin Enriquez said officers would ask the protesters to move and if they didn’t comply, they would forcibly remove them.

Three protesters tied themselves to their cars to delay getting towed. They were arrested after officers cut them loose, and two vehicles were towed, Enriquez told NBC News.

Protesters told NBC News that having their vehicles towed was part of the plan designed to disrupt traffic.

One protester said he was willing to risk getting arrested if it meant keeping Trump out of Arizona.

“If Donald Trump continues and becomes president and his rhetoric continues, more of our families will be hurt,” he said.

Media

Links

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/03/19/with-immigration-center-arizona-primary-trump-gets-boast-from-border-union.html

http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/protesters-block-traffic-arizona-trump-rally-while-protesters-nyc-detained-n541926

Protester Attacked While Being Escorted Out of Trump Rally

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A Donald Trump rally punctuated by near-constant interruptions from demonstrators reached a violent crescendo Saturday when a protester was punched and kicked while being escorted out.

The incident at the event in Tucson, Arizona, was the latest in a series involving scenes of violence at and around events for the Republican front-runner.

There were around 150 police officers working at the Trump event in Tucson on Saturday night.

Trump was interrupted several times during the first 20 minutes or so of the rally by protesters, who the candidate called “disgusting,” “troublemakers” and a “disgrace.”

Bryan Sanders was one of the protesters — dressed in an American flag shirt and holding a sign with Trump’s face with the slogan “Bad for America.”

He told NBC News that he was being escorted out of the rally when a man in the stands grabbed his sign and ripped it out of his hands.

“I stumble back, sucker punch.. and then you saw all hell break loose,” Sanders said. “He’s stomping me.”

Video emerged of the incident that shows Sanders being punched and kicked on the ground before police are able to separate the two men.

“What was going through my mind was: Put your arms over your head, because this political movement has gotten to the point where you may get beat to death inside of a rally,” Sanders said of the moments he was on the ground.

Officers arrested Tony Pettway, 32, at the scene. He was charged him with assault with injury, a class 1 misdemeanor, and released, police said.

Trump noticed the disturbance during his remarks, pointing to the stands and saying, “That’s a disgrace.”

Sanders, who said he is an independent and plans to vote for Bernie Sanders in Tuesday’s primary, said he expected the crowd might be hostile but was surprised by the violence.

“I understand that people support Donald Trump, but do they support this kind of scene?” he said. “Really?”

“Let’s relax, not beat each other at rallies, ok? Even if we have dissenting opinions… I find it un-American that each of us can’t dissent.”

Reality

Protests at Trump rallies do not occur in a vacuum. Since he first announced his candidacy, Trump continues to make racist, sexist, and authoritarian remarks that marginalizes anyone who do not meet his view of white and conservative enough. A full list of protests can be found here.

Media

Links

http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/protester-punched-kicked-donald-trump-rally-arizona-n541991

Trump Protesters Clash, Rush Door

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Protesters clash in Salt Lake City, Utah

A throng of protesters, carrying signs and chanting against Donald Trump, marched down a blocked-off State Street toward a line of the presidential hopeful’s supporters in Salt Lake City.

The two sides shouted at each other for about an hour outside the Infinity Event Center at 26 E. 600 South, where Trump held a rally Friday night. During the protest, two people allegedly tried to breach a barrier on the west side of the event center, but they didn’t get in, said Salt Lake City police Detective Cody Lougy.

Some of the protesters’ criticisms were hurled during their beating of a Trump piñata near the end of the rally; the cardboard effigy swung through the air as it was incrementally destroyed. Among those who took a swing at it was Chrystle Baker, who compared Trump to Adolf Hitler — echoing Alyssa Ferris of the Anti-War Committee, who said at the rally that “we are facing Nazism again … and it is terrifying.”

As the crowd gathered at City Hall, Sean Taylor of Students for a Democratic Society, who organized Friday’s rally, said that they wanted a peaceful protest.

To his knowledge, no one was arrested.

The protesters eventually dispersed about 9 p.m. after an officer announced on a loudspeaker that Trump had left the building. Near the end of the protest, police asked the crowds to disperse while standing in front of the facility, some officers holding shields.

Reality

Violence has no place in our political process and should be condemned from all sides.

Donald Trump says a lot of divisive and hateful statements, escalation of tensions may only seem natural. However as a protester, engaging in violence only plays into the hands of Donald Trump and his supporters. It gives them justification for their false sense of being victimized and allows them to paint the opposition as “thugs” and side-step our real and valid arguments.

Media

Links

http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2016/03/19/donald-trump-utah-rally-protests-sanchez-lklv.cnn

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/03/19/trump-supporters-protesters-clash-outside-rally-in-salt-lake-city.html

This Is What Happens When a Black Man Goes To a Trump Rally Alone

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James Troupe attends a Trump rally

When James Troup decided to attend a Donald Trump rally in Dayton, Ohio, he knew that there was bound to be more than a bit of factually inaccurate fear mongering, but he never expected to see a crowd literally calling for the murder of protestors.

While Troup himself went to the rally merely to watch the spectacle of it all, he described a number of protestors being dragged out of the venue much to the delight of Trump’s supporters. According to Troup, a black man, his race compelled Trump’s staffers to assign him a security buffer of sorts in the event that the crowd decided to turn on him during the event.

“The scariest part was the crowd,” Troup described in a series of posts to Facebook. “They loved everything that was being said. The calls for the wall. The calls to blow up oil fields. The calls to torture and kill people.”

Throughout the event, Trump fired the crowd up describing the necessity of erecting a wall between the U.S. and Mexico in addition to taking a firm stance in support of torturing enemies of the state.

Trump’s rambling speech was repeatedly drowned out by the crowd’s roaring cheers that were noticeably peppered with a number of racial slurs directed at Latino people and President Barack Obama.

Troup managed to peacefully stand his ground during the bulk of the event until, once more black protestors had been kicked out, Trump supporters focused on him.

“The worst part was when their venom turned toward me,” Troup wrote. “There were protestors around me who got ushered out, and then people started pointing at me, motioning for the Secret Service to ‘get him out of there.’ Now mind you, I hadn’t uttered a single word the entire rally, but people still said things like ‘Well what about this one? He needs to go too!’”

Ultimately, Troup left the event feeling as if he’d witnessed something darker and more insidious than a simple political rally.

“At that rally, I saw the scary underbelly of America I saw unadulterated hate, fueled by intentional misinformation,” Troup said. “These people who, just 2 hours ago, seemed like good and kind people, were now cheering for blood.”

Links

http://fusion.net/story/280795/donald-trump-dayton-rally/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=boost

Trump Campaign Bars Black Attendees in Boca Raton

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In a video released this week, a police officer is seen telling a group of black people that Donald Trump’s campaign has banned them from a rally in Boca Raton — while a white man, who admits he is a protester, is allowed to enter.

In the video, an officer Sgt. John Sluth explains to a group of black attendees — including a woman wearing a head covering — that they are not welcome to enter the event, but he says they can voice their opinions in “an area on the other side of the street.”

“We have tickets to the event,” the woman explains.

“That does not matter,” the Sgt. Sluth replies.

“But you don’t even know that we’re here to protest,” the woman notes.

“Does not matter,” the officer insists.

“So, she’s black and she’s wearing something on her head and she has tickets and you’re not letting her in?” Smith interrupts.

“Where did you hear me say that?” the officer asks. “The campaign has told us they don’t want them on the property.”

“What if I have tickets?” Smith presses. “I’m here to protest. And I have tickets.”

“Okay,” the officer shrugs.

“So he gets to go in?” the woman says as Smith walks past the officer into the Trump event.

Reality

The Trump campaign singled out a group of black people from entry into their event, while allowing a white man who identified himself as a protester to walk right by.

When questioned by reporters, law enforcement said it was on request of the Trump staff, and the Trump staff claimed the removal was initiated by law enforcement. The officer in the video makes it clear the Trump campaign singled out the group. If they were really the ones who tried to prevent protesters from entering the event they would have stopped the white guy as well. Logical dictates that the request came from the Trump campaign to refuse entry to the African-Americans.

It is important to note that, since Donald Trump is not the United States government, the First Amendment does not apply. Even though it was on public property, when the government leases public property for an event space, the private lessee may legally exclude individuals. Individuals can be ordered off the property and be arrested for trespassing if they do not comply. The Trump campaign was well within their legal rights to exclude whoever they wish. What is concerning however, is the Trump campaign requesting public law enforcement to remove peaceful citizens based off of the color of their skin.

This was not the only recorded event of non-white attendees being removed for no reason other than not being white. Sun Sentinel columnist Michael Mayo also recorded his removal.

Media

Links

https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/what-do-if-your-rights-are-violated-demonstration-or-protest

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/assembly-on-private-property

 

Trump Calls for Arrests After Protesters Disrupt Kansas City Speech

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Donald Trump said he wants to start “pressing charges” against protesters after the Republican presidential frontrunner’s Kansas City rally on Saturday was repeatedly interrupted by demonstrations.

The controversial candidate blamed “bad, bad people” for the disruptions, which came just a day after fights between Trump supporters and protesters erupted in Chicago.

I hope these guys get thrown in jail — they’ll never do it again,” Trump said on Saturday. “It’ll destroy their record, they’ll have to explain to mom and dad why they have a police record and why they can’t get a job. And you know what? I’m going to start pressing charges against these people.

Adding:

I don’t want to ruin people’s lives. But the only way we’re going to stop this craziness is if we press charges.

Reality

Freedom of speech without government interference is a fundamental right protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America.

“But… but… my’s free speech was violated! Waaah!”

The protesters aren’t agents of the government, therefore, there was no constitutional violation.

Media

Links

http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/protests-continue-inside-outside-trump-kansas-city-event-n537351

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