Improv psyops underway about Chicago

[JackRiddler]

That is an absolutely shameless watermark abuse. MNP is a small upstart outfit since 2013 or so that made its name on the alternative Ghouta (sp?) story, and clearly has no idea how instantly self-discrediting such a practice is.

[Joe Hillshoist]

BTW that photo is actually from 2005 ... not the 90s.

But yeah wtf.

[JackRiddler]

truth-out.org

Setting the Record Straight: Five Misconceptions About the Trump Rally in Chicago

Amalia Pallares, Sara Hall and Jennifer Brier


Donald Trump supporters and protesters confront one another after his campaign rally was canceled, at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, March 11, 2016. (Joshua Lott / The New York Times) Donald Trump supporters and protesters confront one another after his campaign rally was canceled at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, March 11, 2016. (Photo: Joshua Lott / The New York Times)

In the wake of the electoral victories of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in Illinois' primary elections this Tuesday, onlookers nationwide are surely wondering what role the enormous March 11 anti-Trump protest played in shaping this course of events. To answer that question, however, it is first necessary to examine the misinformation that has swirled around the story of that day and to set the historical record straight.

As professors at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where the Trump rally was held, we were personally involved in the events of March 11 at the Make America Great Again! rally. We initially came together around shared safety concerns to urge the university to reconsider its decision to rent space to the Trump campaign for the rally. Now, we have come together again once more to dispel five major misconceptions that the mainstream media and Donald Trump have perpetuated, which are based on inaccurate information about how events unfolded. Here are the five main misconceptions that have continued to circulate:

Misconception #1: Who Canceled the Event

Trump has claimed that he made the decision to cancel upon the recommendation of the police. Let it be known that the police did not recommend the event be canceled.

In contrast to what Trump has suggested, the rally was shut down by Trump himself, not because of violence.

The Chicago Police Department and the University of Illinois at Chicago police have both stated that they never suggested the rally was too dangerous and should be canceled. In fact, the Chicago Police Department has stated that it never spoke with Donald Trump, that it had the staff power to control the event and that it was safe for Trump to conduct his rally. This is a police force that is accustomed to covering far larger marches, protests and rallies, and through coordination with the University of Illinois at Chicago police, a private security company that regularly works in the campus pavilion, the Secret Service and the Illinois State Police, the people involved in security were prepared for the rally. Officers from various agencies lined virtually every street, stairway, nook and corner of the pavilion space and its surroundings. Trump abruptly canceled the event without direct advisement from event-specific security and police. Trump's campaign, acting alone, decided to shut down his speech.

Misconception #2: Conditions at the Rally and Protest

Trump has been claiming that he had over 25,000 supporters inside and outside the pavilion and 2,500 protesters. Those are lies. Inside the pavilion were over 9,000 people (close to its full capacity). At least one-third of them were protesters from the university and the community. The 8,500 people outside were also protesters. One of the key strategies pursued by protesters was to get tickets and occupy the space in the pavilion. Trump's strategy is to denigrate individual or small groups of protesters and have his security or local police eject them. The university had established a protocol for handling protesters that required the presence of an individual observer and involved police video when protesters were being removed. The University of Illinois at Chicago police had exclusive authority to handle those removals. For the Trump campaign staff, this was arguably uncharted and unwelcome territory: an event where he could not perform and control his usual denigration spectacle. Perhaps it was the sheer people power and the very presence and authority of law enforcement with independent orders that prompted him to cancel.

Misconception #3: Why the Rally Was Canceled

In contrast to what Trump has suggested, the rally was shut down by Trump himself, not because of violence.

There was no physical violence reported before the Trump campaign announced the decision to "postpone" the event. News media and cellphone videos show minor confrontations between Trump advocates and Trump opponents inside the pavilion, but nothing on the order of the "violent clashes" cited in the press. Earlier, protesters outside the arena had shouted anti-Trump chants as Trump supporters lined up. Some Trump supporters directed confrontational speech at protesters. Once most people were in the pavilion, protesters outside continued to rally and chant peacefully. Families with strollers, children, faculty, students and Chicagoans from all walks of life mingled while a roster of students spoke on the microphone and guided chants on the edge of campus facing the pavilion. Inside the pavilion, protesters started anti-Trump chants every few minutes, and several were escorted out without undue force, as video corroborates.

"Freedom of speech" does not guarantee a space free from protest, criticism or disagreement.

Incidents justifiably termed "violent" did occur outside of the rally after the "postponement" announcement. Tension inside the pavilion escalated as bitterly disappointed Trump supporters reacted to the elation of Trump protesters. The announcement by the Trump campaign to shut down the event led thousands in the pavilion to jump for joy, cheer and wave banners. At this point, some scuffles and face-offs occurred, and University of Illinois at Chicago police intervened quickly despite the fact that the Trump campaign gave law enforcement no prior warning of the cancellation. They and the Chicago Police Department evacuated the pavilion in an orderly manner. As Trump supporters left, some made obscene gestures, threw bottles and shouted at chanting protesters.

Most arrests that did occur were the consequence of a civil disobedience staged one block north of the pavilion, at an intersection where those leaving the rally by car had to turn to get onto the 290 West Expressway. Over 30 people from Assata's Daughters, Black Lives Matter Chicago, Organized Communities Against Deportations, Lifted Voices and the Chicago League of Abolitionist Whites locked arms to prevent cars from turning west toward the expressway. Creating "soft blockades" as acts of civil disobedience, the people doing this peaceably disruptive action planned to get arrested. However, some Trump supporters tried to run into them with their cars as they U-turned to seek an alternative exit. Others walked toward them and pushed them to the ground, when they could have passed by them via the sidewalk. Other protesters not related to these groups confronted the Trump supporters, some scuffles ensued and the Chicago Police Department intervened. The people making up the physical blockades have alleged that there was excessive use of force by the Chicago police, leading to hospitalization. These are claims that must be investigated as we account for all the outcomes of this event.

There were few arrests and injuries (only in the single digits) given the estimate that 13,000 people attended the event or protested that evening. As one Chicagoan blogged, "The rally I attended yesterday was overwhelmingly peaceful."

Misconception #4: The Meaning of "Freedom of Speech"

Minutes after his cancellation, Trump started claiming that his freedom of speech had been curtailed. This is false. Trump's freedom of speech was not violated.

The First Amendment protects citizens from government curtailment of their free expression; it does not protect one citizen from the dissenting speech of another citizen or group of citizens.

Trump's complaint is particularly egregious given all the effort that the university administration, several law enforcement agencies, student organizers and university staff expended during a week of preparation to ensure that Trump's freedom of speech would be upheld and protected. Despite the very serious safety and security concerns expressed by faculty, staff and students, the various agencies involved in this event accommodated and facilitated Trump's rally.

To refer to the protesters, including our students among them, as "thugs" (as Trump did on Twitter) is a slur with inexcusable racial and class undertones.

The pavilion (acting in its capacity as a self-supporting facility at the University of Illinois at Chicago) issued a contract to the organization at least a week before the rally. Several layers of city, state and federal security agencies (cited above) then committed vast resources to planning and policing the event, taking into account the legal and peaceful protests that were planned. The university made an explicit statement that there was no legal justification for canceling the event, and none of the state police or security agencies involved called for its cancellation. All protesters who came were within their First Amendment rights to criticize the candidate and his positions, and those who disrupted the peace within the walls of the private event were escorted out, as is within the bounds of a private event in a rented facility. Enormous efforts were made on the part of the police and security to assure that protesters were not assaulted or battered (which is not legal), as has occurred at past Trump campaign events.

"Freedom of speech" does not guarantee a space free from protest, criticism or disagreement. Nor would it have protected against the cancellation of an event due to concerns about safety or appropriateness of the time, manner or place of the speech. Nonetheless, the event was not canceled by the venue, the university or law enforcement. Trump and his staff made the decision to cancel it without explicit instruction from a state agency or the university.

Misconception #5: Who Orchestrated the Protest

The protest was homegrown.

Often when a political group or leader faces mass opposition, those who oppose the protest will claim that it was orchestrated by outsiders. This case is no different. Faced with the shock of many thousands of protesters, Trump and right-wing conspiracy theorists immediately claimed that MoveOn, philanthropist and activist George Soros, and even the Bernie Sanders campaign were the main instigators of the protest. Trump has referred to a "planned attack."

Acts of violence and brutality did occur, and it was people of color, as we predicted, who bore the brunt of the violence.

The photographic evidence and witness accounts refute Trump's account. Yes, MoveOn paid for some signs, but take a good look at the protesters and you will see those with the MoveOn insignia outnumbered by the vast number of homemade signs, banners and unique art on display. Those familiar with MoveOn know that one of its main activities is to organize petition drives, not street protests. As for Bernie Sanders supporters, there were several present holding their Bernie signs, but they were exercising the very freedom of speech that all groups, including Trump supporters, had at the pavilion that day. Sanders himself has stated that his campaign played no role in the event, and Trump and his allies provided no evidence to support their claims.

While all organizations and individuals were welcome, this protest was led and coordinated by a broad coalition of student activists from many different campus organizations. These students in turn, have strong connections with many Chicago grassroots organizations led by Brown, Black, Asian and LGBT youth, and are often active both on- and off-campus. Chicago is a city with a longstanding and dense social movement infrastructure that includes civic, immigrant, grassroots, labor and youth organizations, which also participated. It is an epicenter of labor activism, immigrant rights activism and the movement for Black lives. In fact, many of those attending the rally arrived there immediately after other protests occurring that day around police brutality and a state government budget crisis that is threatening public higher education.

As one University of Illinois at Chicago colleague responded when asked how Chicago shut it down: "We are not perfect but we know how to organize." For people who know our university and the skills and capabilities of our students and the Chicago activist community, to claim that this protest was instigated by outsiders is frankly insulting. To refer to the protesters, including our students among them, as "thugs" (as Trump did on Twitter) is a slur with inexcusable racial and class undertones. For the record, no one paid or instigated us, three independent faculty members, to write a letter signed by 349 faculty and staff members who shared our concern about how this event would be handled and how our diverse student community might be affected by the rally.

We wrote our initial letter because we foresaw that security forces might not be prepared to protect individuals who had gathered to exercise their right to free assembly and free speech on the grounds that the Trump campaign has consistently called for and instigated violence against those who are not "with him" or "for him." He has gone as far as to call for mass arrests and prosecution of protesters. We viewed his overt encouragement of violence against those who publicly disagree with him as a credible cause for either cancellation or additional security and supervision over interactions between Trump security and the public, flare-ups between opposing parties, or between the public and law enforcement. The brutality was not as widespread as we feared, in part because of the largely peaceful and civil nature of the protests and the extra preparation and restraint on the part of all law enforcement and security agencies. But acts of violence and brutality did occur, and it was people of color, as we predicted, who bore the brunt of the violence. We hope the leadership of our campus learned a great deal from our students about the nature of peaceful, effective protest. They continue to impress and astound us. Their rights and their accomplishments should be celebrated and emulated rather than denigrated by the press and the public.

[tapitsbo]

"As professors, nobody funds us or gives us directions on political issues that we must follow to continue our employment."

If Trump's idiot followers were smart they would be bro-testing and finger-wagging about consequences of free speech as well as endless surrealist actual psy ops around the clock. They really need to put on their thinking caps. I hear lots of young people are dropping out of secondary education to attend metapolitical boot camps, though.

[Karmamatterz]

If Trump's idiot followers were smart they would be bro-testing and finger-wagging about consequences of free speech as well as endless surrealist actual psy ops around the clock. They really need to put on their thinking caps. I hear lots of young people are dropping out of secondary education to attend metapolitical boot camps, though.

Please elaborate on what exactly you mean by bro-testing? That's sorta seems almost masculine.

What are the consequences of free speech one must understand here? Again, trying to get a sense of specifics.

Metapolitcal boot camps? What the heck are those? Where are they located? What type of people are actually dropping out of secondary education?

[tapitsbo]

I was just joking.

But yeah guys, let's find solace in the fact that the ugly embarrassing peasantry are never going to purge the universities that give us the comfort to protest stuff, and stuff. It's not like anyone anywhere ever has done that before, and it isn't like all our incriminating work isn't uploaded under our real names, or anything.

[Wombaticus Rex]

Misconception #5: Who Orchestrated the Protest

The protest was homegrown.

Often when a political group or leader faces mass opposition, those who oppose the protest will claim that it was orchestrated by outsiders. This case is no different. Faced with the shock of many thousands of protesters, Trump and right-wing conspiracy theorists immediately claimed that MoveOn, philanthropist and activist George Soros, and even the Bernie Sanders campaign were the main instigators of the protest. Trump has referred to a "planned attack."

Acts of violence and brutality did occur, and it was people of color, as we predicted, who bore the brunt of the violence.

The photographic evidence and witness accounts refute Trump's account. Yes, MoveOn paid for some signs, but take a good look at the protesters and you will see those with the MoveOn insignia outnumbered by the vast number of homemade signs, banners and unique art on display. Those familiar with MoveOn know that one of its main activities is to organize petition drives, not street protests. As for Bernie Sanders supporters, there were several present holding their Bernie signs, but they were exercising the very freedom of speech that all groups, including Trump supporters, had at the pavilion that day. Sanders himself has stated that his campaign played no role in the event, and Trump and his allies provided no evidence to support their claims.

Just had to interject: I think chiding "conservative conspiracy theorists" for just not getting MoveOn is so disingenuous it amounts to gaslighting.

I've watched MoveOn co-opt a couple Occupy cells. They don't have to be furtively funneling Soros money in brown envelopes. They really do just show up with materials and expertise. "We just want to provide support." They quickly become the only serious leadership because they're the only serious activists: paid and trained. They have a network, they show up prepared, they've done it before. About 2-4 weeks later, your Occupy crew is in tatters and those that remain are doing protests "in solidarity" with local labor & endorsing candidates for local campaigns.

The people I watched doing this were not cartoon villains. Indeed, one of them was acutely aware that he'd homogenized something interesting and new into "another damn 501c," as he put it over drinks. Even he justified it as a larger tactical victory, though; Illinois was in a tough spot, after all, and had more immediate & realistic needs than reforming Wall Street.

When Black Lives Matter events started popping up in Vermont, I definitely saw some of the same MoveOn reps that I did in 2011 running damage control when a local homeless guy killed himself at the Burlington encampment. This is nothing remotely sinister. This is the stated purpose of the organization. This is what those people are paid to do.

So: while saying "MoveOn was involved so this was a planned & financed operation" is almost child-like in the flattened simplicity of the worldview behind it, I don't think saying "You don't understand how MoveOn works" is an honest response.

[tapitsbo]

The grassroots/soros dichotomy leaves a large gap to be filled in, yes, one that includes all manner of formal and informal networks.

[backtoiam]

This is a very interesting first hand report (2 reports) that includes a couple of videos. At this rate, if this show keeps getting better on its current trajectory, there ain't much tellin how good this show could get later... In the last couple of days I have been thinking this potentially is the herald of some sort of slow motion watershed moment. A fork in the road or the lead in to a sharp curve in the road. I don't know and I may be wrong but this is unusual.

This also reminds me of what Roger Stone said about moveon framing Bernie. In Stone's opinion these "bernie" supporters were not true Bernie supporters but moveon.org workers. If this is true the guy that wrote this report didn't realize it and didn't pick up on it. He writes this from the perspective of a person that believes these really are true Bernie supporters. He says they were there in force and they were mean.

This guy said the protesting crowd against Trump was pretty mean and roaming around harassing people in a pretty organized way. One interesting thing I noted was that he said they were meanest to the Trump supporters of color blacks and hispanics. They reserved special hell for them because they viewed these minority members as traitors to the cause.

The bolds are his.

Chicago Trump Rally: What Really Happened And How The Left Exposed Their True Form

March 16, 2016

This is a report on the Donald Trump rally from Markos, who was reporting live for Danger & Play Media.

I’m sure most of you have heard the news, and seen the videos on the news. You may have a lot of questions, and want to see if what the media reported was accurate or not.

Well, I’ve got good news for you. I was there, and I will tell you exactly what I saw, and how it all went down.

Let’s first go over the details.

Chicago Trump Rally -First Announced and Leading Up To The Rally

Trump’s campaign first announced the rally on Friday, March 4th when tickets became available online. After I got 2; one for my friend (whom I will refer to as Mav) and one for myself.

I told some other people after I got my tickets to get some, but they quickly sold out after only a few hours of being offered. (We later found out what happened to all these tickets).

Leading up to the event, my friend Mav told me that he saw a Facebook group that already had 7,000 people saying they were going to protest Trump’s rally. By the time Friday came around, some 11,000 anti-Trump protesters had said they were going to the Trump rally.



Chicago Trump Rally -Friday, March 11, 2016

We arrived at the rally around 4 o’clock and began walking towards the U.I.C. Pavilion where the rally was held. The gates opened at 3 but the rally wasn’t supposed to start until 6.

For those of you unfamiliar with Chicago and the area:

The event was hosted at the U.I.C. (University of Illinois at Chicago) Pavilion, which is located in Chicago’s West Side
U.I.C. is 60% non-White and repeatedly ranks in the top 10 most “diverse” universities in the U.S.
U.I.C. and the area surrounding it is considered a bastion of Leftism and ‘multi-culturalism’
The U.I.C. Pavilion can hold around 9,500 people.

As we began walking towards the building, we saw protestors on one side, cops in between, and people in line trying to get into the Trump rally.

There were about 30-50 protesters behind metal barriers with signs and chanting slogans. Police on horses were between them and the people.

Now, let’s talk about the line.

The line.. was massive. I’ve never seen such a huge line before.


X marks the entrance. Police Presence represented by Red Stars


We followed the line all the way to a little before where the ? mark sign is on the map.

During the walk, we saw mostly Trump supporters in line, and a few Trump protesters waiting to get in. We could tell they were protesters by what they were wearing or what signs they were carrying.

When we first got in line, we were behind some high school kids (one was wearing a jacket with the school’s name on it) who were getting lectured by some 50 something year old feminist looking woman.

She was arguing with them as to why they should support Bernie Sanders. When one of the kid’s said that he didn’t want socialism, she threw out the tired and overused “Bernie isn’t a socialist; he’s a democratic socialist.” She didn’t explain the difference but said it matter of fact to the kids.

The People In Line

Since we were in line for close to 2 hours, we were able to get a feel of the people waiting to get inside.

Most of the people (though there was a sizable amount) were not wearing Trump clothing; no hats, shirts, buttons etc.
Most of the people were regular looking White Americans; close to 90% of the line.
Around 60-70% of the people in line were male.
The women that were in line tended to be on the attractive side of the scale.
There was a sizable amount of parents with their kids (under 18 years old) attending the rally.

Most people were just chatting among themselves; waiting to see the Donald. Thousands of people were still in line at 6 o’clock; and we had no idea if we’d get in or not.


The Protesters/Anti-Trump People

I got a good feel for the people there who didn’t support Trump. You could mostly tell who was for/against Trump. Some of my observations:

Most of the people were wearing anti-Trump shirts or shirts they created with anti-Trump slogans, or were carrying signs
Most of them were Hispanic or White; with a sizable amount of Blacks (mostly Black females) making up the ranks
The majority were college aged; and the genders were around evenly split
The women were not attractive; overweight, short hair and/or dyed green/blue, and generally unfeminine in appearance

Trump Rally Get’s Cancelled

After waiting for close to an hour and a half, we get word that the rally has been postponed/cancelled. As people are walking by us shouting this, and most are Bernie people, we don’t accept it right away and stay in the line.

As we get right by the doors, we get confirmation from Trump supporters that the rally has indeed been cancelled. We talk to a few, and see a few get interviewed.

But we notice that there is no security keeping people out from going inside the Pavilion. We decide to go in and have a look at what was going on.



What we saw inside there was total chaos.

There were still thousands of people inside the Pavilion.

When we got in and looked down into the stage/arena area, we saw hundreds of anti-Trump protesters running around wild on the floor.

They were chanting slogans and yelling at the Trump supporters, and were being chased by police.


[color=#800040]Note: The Chicago Police were excellent at this event. I’ve never been the biggest ‘Support Our Police’ kind of guy, but they were extremely professional and did a great job. Hats off to the Chicago Police on this night.[/color]

So while there were hundreds of anti-Trump protesters on the floor of the building protesting/distrupting the now cancelled event, there were also hundreds of anti-Trump protesters in the stands as well.

It looked like a scene out of a March Madness basketball game.

They were literally jumping up and down chanting slogans and singing anti-Trump/anti-Trump supporter songs.

There were still hundreds of Trump supporters in the stands/on the floor, but it appeared most had left and were leaving, while the protesters were not.

There was a lot of fear and disbelief in the eyes of the Trump supporters.

I saw a father, mother, and their 2 kids in the stands. They were wearing Trump clothing and were clearly Trump supporters.

They were Filipino (I could tell by their appearance and accents) and the parents were clearly born there. They were genuinely scared for their children’s protection.

Mav and I stood by them for a little bit to give them a little comfort, but after a few minutes when it was safer, they headed for the exit.

We decided to head towards the doors ourselves, but as we approached the door we saw police on top of and arresting an anti-Trump protester. Many of the anti-Trump protesters were yelling and screaming at the police for arresting this guy.

Protests Outside Of The U.I.C. Pavilion

When we exited the Pavilion, we were greeted by hundreds of anti-Trump protesters who were congregating outside the entrance.

Some were forming mash pits and jumping up and down. One of their chants was : We Stumped Trump, We Stumped Trump, We Stumped Trump.



Many of these anti-Trump protesters were harassing the Trump people leaving the venue.

One of the favorites was to say: Racists Go Home! Racists Go Home! Fuck You Racists, Get The Fuck Out Of Here!

They were yelling this at Trump supporters, but more importantly White Trump supporters. It was clear that they were equating being a Trump supporter and being White as their definition of a racist.



The crowd was almost exclusively college aged kids.

There was one scene that kept repeating itself.

One lone Trump supporter, with simply a Trump hat or a Trump 2016 sign, would be surrounded by 5-15+ anti-Trump protesters.

These protesters would get up in the Trump supporters face, swearing, screaming, yelling, and threatening them to get out. Most of these lone Trump supporters were men in their 40’s and 50’s. These protesters seemed to not have grown up with the concept of ‘respecting your elders’; or showing any respect for that matter.

At one point, 2 Trump supporters; one guy with a Trump sign and the girl he was with had a ‘Make America Great Again’ hat on.

They must have been in their low to mid 20’s.

Another one of these protester packs surrounded them and started to shout and threaten them. These 2 Trump supporters did not back down, and held their own.

Then, one of the protesters stole the Trump hat off of the girl’s head and ran away down the street celebrating. All the protesters started to laugh and mock the girl that she ‘got her shit stolen’ and ‘that showed you, b*tch.’

Police allowed these protesters to gather and did not try to disperse them. They were down the street on horses, and formed a line, but did not try to stop them.

Protesters Move To The Parking Garage

After gathering outside the entrance and protesting, they all seemed to know where to go next.

They moved to outside the parking garage next to the Pavilion. They were behind the metal barriers and were allowed to be there.

What I saw next was pretty appalling.

They were booing, yelling, swearing, and flicking off the Trump supporters who were driving out of the parking garage.

The police were protecting the cars from being attacked, but they did not stop the protesters from yelling and screaming at the cars leaving the garage.

At this point, it seemed most of these protesters were Mexican and Hispanic. There were at least 2 giant Mexican flags in the crowd of protesters being held up.

There were Antifa, with their face masks, roaming around at this point. They also appeared to be Mexican.

After their protest of the cars leaving the parking garage, most of the protesters started to disperse and slip away into the night. Mav and I decided to head out as well, as we did not want to run into one of these many anti-Trump protester packs that were now roaming the nearby streets.



Important Observations and Comments

I just covered how the night went, from beginning to end. Now I’d like to comment on a few things that stood out, and what we learned that night.

Also, let me state this: I grew up in the Chicagoland area, and am very familiar with how things work there. I knew many friends that went to U.I.C., so I am familiar with the school, the area, and what kind of students attend there.

With that said-
1. These Were Not ‘Peaceful Protesters’

I have heard over and over in the Media that these were simply ‘Peaceful Protesters’ trying to make their voice heard.

This is a complete lie.

These protesters had a clear agenda: Disrupt, intimidate, silence, and attack anything and everyone pro-Trump.

There were plenty of parents there with their kids. There were high school kids, elderly folks, and many females trying to genuinely listen to what Donald Trump had to say.

I myself am in my 20’s and was taught growing up to respect people older than yourself (if anything because I wouldn’t want someone to treat my parents that way). These 18-20 somethings clearly did not; and had no problem harassing and intimidating people their own parents and grandparents age.

2. Most Of These Anti-Trump Protesters Were Bernie Sanders Supporters

The Media, new sites, and political pundits have tried to dismiss or deny this.

But for anyone that was there, this much was clear:

Bernie Sanders signs were everywhere the protesters were.

Whether they carried Bernie 2016 signs, had Sanders pins/t-shirts, or wrote Bernie Sanders on their home-made posters, his name was everywhere.


3. The Most Violent and Aggressive Anti-Trump Protesters Were Mexican and Hispanic

Most of the protesters were White or Hispanic- it was about evenly split; with Blacks coming in third.

Note: Most of Hispanics in the Chicago area are Mexican; and many of them shouted that they were Mexican.

But what was clear- the Mexican and Hispanics were the loudest and most aggressive out of the protesters. There were dozens of Mexican flags, signs, and pins in their ranks.

At one point a group of Mexican and Hispanics formed a chain in the middle of the street, holding signs and singing ‘Sí, se puede’ which means ‘Yes, we can.’

Most of the protesters running up to, surrounding, and threatening the Trump supporters were the Mexican and Hispanics. The one who stole the Trump hat off of the girl was a Mexican protester.



4. Anti-Trump Protesters Despised Non-White Trump Supporters

While the protesters clearly targeted any and all Trump supporters, they seemed to have a special affinity for non-White Trump supporters.

The protesters saw these non-White Trump supporters as ‘traitors’; and would get extremely angry seeing them. We even saw 2 groups of Mexicans; Trump supporters holding up the Mexican flag, being verbally harassed by anti-Trump Mexican protesters arguing back and forth in Spanish.

Also, many black Trump supporters were verbally harassed and confronted by many of the protesters.

5. The Protesters Were Filled With Hate

The Media has reported and constantly lied that at the Trump rallies, the Trump supporters are the ones that are filled with hate.

Pardon my language, but this is complete bullshit.

The people who wanted to see Trump were your everyday people- lawyers, corporate workers, small business owners, laborers, etc. I did not see or hear any hateful things said by the Trump supporters.

But, the protesters had an aura of pure venom.

While I felt completely safe (they did not say anything or mess with me), I was actually worried for some of the solo Trump supporters and older guys that they may be physically attacked and hurt.

These protesters 1:1 were not impressive, but they were like a pack of hyenas and had power through sheer advantage of numbers.

[b]6. This Was An Attack and a Declaration of War Against Trump Supporters[/b]

If you were present, there is no way you would not come to see this as well:
The Left, and specifically Bernie Sander’s people, have declared war on all Trump supporters and sympathizers

They do not care what you have to say. They do not care about your rights of free speech. They do not care if they commit crimes and break the law.

They want every and all Trump supporters to shut up, stay silent, and submit to them.

Conclusion and Final Thoughts

The Left exposed their true form in Chicago. Whatever claim they still had of being “pro-free speech” and for human-rights was thrown right out the door.

After personally witnessing this historic event, it is clear that the Left is completely built on lies (not that most of us didn’t already know that), and that they are dangerous and a threat to personal freedom.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


This came from the comments section. Another guy giving his account.


Dr Caveman

Thanks for posting this. I will add my own observations from within the arena.

My wife and I arrived at UIC a little past 4pm. By then the doors were open and the queue was slowly moving. As Markos said, it was an enormous queue with a very mixed crowd. By the time we reached the UIC entrances, we got a nice view of protesters, who seemed to be a mix of usual left wing focus groups. There were feminists, BLM activist, Free Palestine people and so on, so while we were moving through the last bit of the queue we saw what can be considered the Special Olympics of Virtue Signalling, where each group tried to outdo the others in manufactured outrage.

When we went through security – pretty thorough, metal detectors, they even rifle through your keys and wallets, we got to the stadium which was by then at ~90% capacity. The diehard Trump supporters who arrived early were in front and to the sides of the main stage. Since we got late, we found a couple of seats at the left rear.

When we looked around, we were surprised to see how many blacks, muslims and hispanics had turned out. There were a handful of Trump supporters – middle aged couples and elderly women in the front left section, but most left when it became apparent that we were surrounded by protesters.

Within minutes, we saw the first heated confrontations, where young guys were insulting a middle aged Trump supporter and his wife. The guy was pretty brave, standing up to a group of four or five that was getting more and more aggressive. Eventually, the police intervened and escorted the Trump supporter out, while the crowd chanted ‘Throw him out, throw him out”.

Scenes like this would be repeated several times over. A large majority of the crowd – mostly students and muslim women, stayed in the seated area, chanting slogans and making noise but being generally peaceful in a rowdy way. The protesters who were keen to stir shit were roaming about, along the stairs and on the arena floor. When Trump supporters arrived in groups to see what all the noise was, things got more heated, where people were yelling devolved in pushing and some scuffles.

The Chicago police did an excellent job here. They only intervened when people became aggressive and very obnoxious and they didn’t seem to distinguish between Trump supporters and protesters. One interesting thing was that black and hispanic Trump supporters were subjected to an incredible amount of racist abuse from the BLM crowd. Apparently, it ain’t racism when they do it.

In the mean time, groups of thugs were invading the ground floor area of the arena. These guys were clearly not students – mostly black gangbanger types and buffed up muslims and hispanics. These guys were clearly looking to fight, and they got what they came for. At some point, the organization must have realized that there was a large, hostile crowd right in front of the stadium, so just after the police started clearing out whole sections, including ours, it was announced that the rally was canceled.

This resulted in a massive rush on the arena floor as the protester crowd ran amok. Within minutes, there was a huge, churning crowd right in front of our seats, chanting Bernie, Bernie. That was the moment we decided to bail before things got out of hand.

From there on it was pretty much as Markos described – small clusters of Trump supporters, including women and children, making their way back to their cars while being subjected to white hot virtue signalling from a crowd that smelled blood.

I shot some videos – they can be found at Matt Forney’s site who put them on youtube for public use. Also, Mike has them in the dropbox.

[JackRiddler]

Roger Stone, sure, great. Always a go-to source. It's a theory. Yeah, MoveOn wants to "frame" Bernie. Gotta find a way to work Soros in somehow, right? He's missing from this thread.

So what are the chances that at least one-quarter or one-third of the protester crowd, in 2016, would not be Sanders supporters? Not organized by the campaign or by MoveOn, but Sanders supporters anyway? And what are the chances that this many Sanders supporters aren't going to be chanting for Sanders at some point... with days to go before the Illinois primary?

That's a theory too, and it's obvious that it was very likely to happen independently of whatever plans Roger Stone-thrower decided to imagine in this case, as he always does.

And hmmmmmmmmmm... hmmmmmmm.... gotta do some heavy thinking here for the next part...

As for the reports above from the two so very nice white people who were among the vast majority of peace-loving Trump supporters who just wanted to filter in quietly and listen to the Trump hold a discourse, and had their picnic disturbed, and, oh, how they feared for their children, because we had to mention that, and oh, thank god the Chicago cops did such a good job, etc. etc.

(the same Chicago cops who in this case directly contradicted the Trump story about the conditions on site, and who denied they had declared the site unsafe or recommended a cancellation)....

This part stood out nicely, even synechdochically:

But what was clear- the Mexican and Hispanics were the loudest and most aggressive out of the protesters. There were dozens of Mexican flags, signs, and pins in their ranks.

At one point a group of Mexican and Hispanics formed a chain in the middle of the street, holding signs and singing ‘Sí, se puede’ which means ‘Yes, we can.’

Most of the protesters running up to, surrounding, and threatening the Trump supporters were the Mexican and Hispanics. The one who stole the Trump hat off of the girl was a Mexican protester.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.... Hmmmmmmmmmm....

Now how did that happen? What's up with these Mexicans, man? Why they go and do messed up things like that?

You'd think a celebrity billionaire running for president had just gotten a year's worth of free media time, more than all other candidates combined. You'd think during all this free publicity and large rallies this celebrity billionaire running for president had expounded on how Mexicans are bad people -- hey, he's not saying all of them, just maybe most? -- rapists, drug dealers, scum. How Mexico sends the worst scum to the United States, and keeps the good people for itself. How as president he's going to build a wall, 25 feet -- a beautiful wall, 50 feet, no 55 feet -- along the entire border to Mexico, and how he is going to MAKE the nation of Mexico PAY FOR THE WALL. In full! Just like that! "Oh, they will pay. You wait and see!"

You'd think same celebrity billionaire running for president who just got more media time than all other candidates combined over the course of the year 2015 had also called for the rounding up and deportation of 11 million medium and longer-term residents of the country, most of them Mexican. You'd think the same guy had similarly choice words and specific plans for other ethnic/religious groups and various nations. You'd think he specialized and made a big show of haranguing lone protesters from the podium, calling on his supporters to beat them, put them on stretchers, punch them in the face, no problem... for he would even pay the legal fees for any charges stemming from such behavior.

Because if that wasn't all so, those would be really weird and unnecessarily provoked Mexicans, if you ask me. What the hell else could motivate them, besides all this stuff that obviously didn't happen, with fictional billionaire-actors on television and in crowds running for president and talking that stuff and making threats to Mexicans and Mexico?

No, clearly, we need explanations for what, ultimately, would cause Chicago Mexicans (and blacks and Muslims and etc.) to, for no discernible reason, get all hot about a nice gathering of white people at a downtown university in their heavily Mexican-black-etc. town. And to even say "si se puede," which, wait for it, means... Yes We Can! (Shudder!!!)

What is wrong with them?! Why do they hate our freedoms?

[backtoiam]

[backtoiam]

[backtoiam]

Trump decided to talk to this kid that probably got paid to wear this shirt but the kid's handler was having none of that.

[DrEvil]

Pro Trump:
The women that were in line tended to be on the attractive side of the scale.

Anti Trump:
The women were not attractive; overweight, short hair and/or dyed green/blue, and generally unfeminine in appearance.

Wtf? What century does this guy live in?

[82_28]

Good Christ. He's fucking amplifying the WWE routine now. Anybody notice that his mics outside of the debates he doesn't control, but at his rallies or whatever they are are intertwined? I noticed it a few months ago.