During President Trump’s Harrisburg, Pa. rally marking his 100th day in office on Saturday, an attendee named Neil Makhija says he was surrounded by Trump supporters and “shoved up against the wall” after being wrongly identified as a protester.
“It was a disturbing moment,” said Makhija speaking to AOL.com, who says multiple Trump supporters wearing “Bikers for Trump” shirts cornered him while he was listening to the president’s speech. Video of an altercation at the New Holland Arena in the Farm Show and Expo Center shows a group of men surrounding Makhija, pushing him while shoving pro-Trump signs in front of his face.
According to Makhija, the incident began when a person standing next to him was being removed from the rally after holding up a sign that read, “The sea levels are rising.”
“Then a supporter just pointed at me and said, ‘Hey, take that guy too,’ and they went after me,” said Makhija who denies knowing the protesters and says he was not at the rally to cause problems but rather to listen to the president’s speech.
Multiple protesters were removed from the rally throughout the president’s speech.
Makhija, a Harvard-educated lawyer and a former Democratic candidate for state House added, “I’m not saying it’s cause the way I look, but they just don’t want anyone here who’s not vehemently supportive.” Makhija is also a resident of Carbon County, Pennsylvania.
Law enforcement stepped in as Trump supporters pushed Makhija towards the exit. He was then escorted out of the arena briefly before returning to the rally once police assessed the situation.
“We see a issue and we just help out,” said a man who did not provide his name but was wearing a “Bikers for Trump” and was involved in the altercation. “I don’t know what happened over there … I don’t know the facts. Ask him, he knows all about it,” he while pointing to Makhija.
Makhija admits he’s not a Trump supporter, but he insists he came to Saturday’s rally with an open mind. “I’m not a protester, I actually pay attention and wanted to see the president when he came back.”
“I wanted to see if he actually said something about the opioid issue — he hasn’t said anything at all,” said Makhija.
If somehow the Secret Service, local law enforcement, and Donald Trump’s own security detail fail to protect him, the Republican presidential frontrunner has a biker gang to back him up. Ever since Trump was forced to cancel a rally in Chicago because of protesters, a group of 30,000 motorcyclists called Bikers for Trump has been patrolling his campaign events to help out law enforcement, Politico reports.
The group, which initially formed to hold independent rallies for Trump, is now appearing at Trump events across the country under the leadership of Chris Cox, a former advance man for former Vice President Dan Quayle. Though the group is doing this of their own accord, Politico reports that Trump’s campaign isn’t exactly hindering their efforts. Earlier this month, the bikers showed up in Albany to form a “protective barrier” between Trump supporters and Trump protesters. Just last week, the men showed up at a rally inside the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex where Politico reports they were “assuming functions typically reserved for paid security and police — patrolling the dirt floor of the arena, snatching and tearing protesters’ signs, and following close behind law enforcement officials as they dragged protesters from the arena, ready to lend a hand.”
Next up, the bikers plan to head to Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and California — and then on to the convention in Cleveland. “We’re not here to make headlines,” Cox told Politico, “we’re here to prevent them.”
We’ve searched the news and so far and thankfully there hasn’t been any incidents involving Bikers for Trump as of this date. However biker gangs do not have the best track record when it comes to security.
With a crowd of thousands still piling into the stands and onto the dirt floor, the PA system at the Farm Show Complex’s large arena crackled to life with an unusual announcement, one it had likely never made before.
“If you see a protester, do not harm them. This is a peaceful event,” said the man’s voice on the other end.
It was an unusual public appeal, not only for the venue, but also given the context.
This was a presidential campaign stop by a presidential front runner.
But Donald Trump’s campaign has been unusual in almost every-way. Unusual in its nose-thumbing at political leaders. Unusual in its imperviousness. Unusual in its polarizing effect.
And so it was no more than five minutes into Trump’s event Thursday, with thousands still in a line snaking around the palatial Complex, that the first protester was spotted.
“Get him out. Get him out,” Trump said with a swipe of his hand.
Minutes later there was a second one, this time chanting “Black Lives Matter.” The man was snatched up by police and rushed through a cattle chute and into the hallways outside.
Halfway into the event, ejections of protesters had become so commonplace that Trump developed a rhythm.
“Aren’t Trump rallies fun,” he said to uproarious applause.
“The protesters are giving up ’cause we like it, we have fun with it,” he added.
And they certainly did.
But for every dissenter inside, there were more out.Donald Trump protesters outside of rally in HarrisburgMore than a hundred protesters faced off with Donald Trump supporters outside of Trump’s rally in Harrisburg on April 21, 2016.
Outside the building, hundreds of protesters had gathered, growing from just a handful earlier in the day. After the event, they faced off with Trump supporters as they filed out of the arena and toward their cars.
They traded barbs earlier in the day, which later escalated into verbal threats and taunts.
Inside, Trump got in on it, too.
“Let him go. He’s got no voice. I can’t even hear him,” Trump said of one protester before commending police for the speed of their extraction.
A Capitol Police officer told PennLive that protesters would be told to leave the building and could face arrest if they returned. The officer added that some could be arrested on the spot depending on the severity of the disturbance they created. That did not appear to be the case on Thursday. But there was at least one person taken into police custody outside, before the event ended and the unrest grew.
During his speech, Trump took aim at his detractors, insinuating the protest movement was something other than homegrown.
He said protesters in New York, when pressed by media, expressed ambivalence about their anti-Trump message or favor for the candidate himself. He pointed to signs and placards he said appeared mass-produced, hinting at a third party’s involvement.
But those outside the Harrisburg event said their own convictions led them to protest his appearance here.
One of them, Keith Bentz of Harrisburg, blamed Trump and his campaign for a divisive tone that he feels has the nation “splitting itself down the middle.”
Another man, Michael Betsill of Harrisburg, helped organize Thursday’s protest through social media platforms, and said of Trump, “what other campaign has caused this ever? What other candidate has ever caused so much chaos among a nation and that’s why we’re here.”
He added, “Everybody that’s involved and seems to be supporting [Trump’s campaign] has one vision for what America should be. America is already great, there’s not one person who is gonna make this country great again.”
Across the police barrier, Trump supporters dismissed characterizations of the campaign or Trump’s message as racially incendiary and said the protesters were likely just supporters of a political opponent, such as Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders.
Ryan Leonard said Trump’s stance on issues like immigration weren’t about race, but about “what’s right and what’s wrong, what’s legal and illegal.”
Another supporter, Chanse Firestone of Denver, Pa., said it wasn’t about race, but rather the refusal of some in this country to buy into the American Dream.
“Everybody says it’s about race. It’s not about race. It’s about putting America to work.”
Around him, other supporters shouted “get a job,” and “no more handouts,” at members of the opposing group. There was a moment when the sides pushed in toward the middle and a flashpoint seemed inevitable.
But cooler heads prevailed.
Inside the event, meanwhile, Trump was back on the subject of his protesters, saying most were there to disrupt and agitate.
But he assured the rabid crowd of thousands that he was in control.
“Remember what I said, the safest place on earth is a Trump rally.”
