Protests of the Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016

Protests of the Donald Trump presidential campaign
Part of the Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016
A protest in Chicago that occurred on March 11, 2016
Date	June 16, 2015 – ongoing
Location	United States
Caused by	Donald Trump's presidential campaign Percieved inflammatory rhetoric by Trump Organized opposition by progressive and conservative groups The aftermath of the Great Recession
Goals	The prevention of Donald Trump attaining the office of U.S President
Methods	Demonstration, Riots, Internet activism, Political campaigning
Status	Ongoing
Parties to the civil conflict
Stop Trump movement Democratic Party and related groups Clinton campaign Sanders campaign Black Lives Matter Occupy movement MoveOn.org Libertarian Party Johnson campaign United States U.S. police and security Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) United States Secret Service (USSS) Trump campaign Republican Party (since May 2016) Alternative Right American Freedom Party Ku Klux Klan (disavowed)

Lead figures
Mitt Romney Glenn Beck Bill Kristol Ted Cruz Mark Levin (until May 2016) Rush Limbaugh (until May 2016) Hillary Clinton Bernie Sanders George Soros David Brock Shaun King Deray McKesson Gary Johnson William Weld Joseph Clancy (USSS Director) James Comey (FBI Director) Donald Trump Corey Lewandowski Paul Manafort Ben Carson Sarah Palin Roger Stone (no longer associated with campaign) David Duke (disavowed by Donald Trump)
Units involved
Number
Chicago protest 2,500+ New York protest 1,500–2,000 Albuquerque protest Unknown Los Angeles protest 1,000–3,000 San Diego protest 1,000+ Chicago rally 6,000 New York rally Unknown Albuquerque rally Unknown Los Angeles rally Unknown San Diego rally Unknown
Casualties and losses
Casualties
Injuries	35+
Arrested	113+ (including a CBS News reporter)

Protests have been a notable feature of the 2016 presidential campaign of Donald Trump. Led by activists who organized demonstrations inside Trump rallies, sometimes with calls to shut Trump down, and fueled by perceived incendiary language used by Trump, protesters began attending his rallies displaying signs and disrupting proceedings.

On March 11, 2016, a protest in Chicago resulted in the cancellation of the event being held there after hundreds of protesters entered the arena. Violence escalated in April and March of 2016, when riots broke out at anti-Trump protests in Costa Mesa, California and Albuquerque, New Mexico as police were assaulted and dozens were arrested while numerous cases of injury and property damage were reported.

Protests and altercations

Some protesters were part of organized groups such as Black Lives Matter. They sometimes attempt to enter the venue or engage in activities outside the venue. Interactions with supporters of the candidate may occur before, during, or after the event. Protesters have attempted to rush the stage at Trump's rallies. One protester, 37-year-old Paul Horner, told ABC News that he was paid $3,500 by a group called 'Women Are The Future' to "protest Donald Trump's rally in Fountain Hills."

Planning

MoveOn.org, People for Bernie, the Muslim Student Association, Assata's Daughters, the Black Student Union, Fearless Undocumented Alliance, and Black Lives Matter are among the organizations who sponsored or promoted the protests at the March 11 Chicago Trump rally.

There have been verbal and physical confrontations between Trump supporters and protesters at Trump's campaign events.

Language used by Trump

Trump was criticized by some of creating aggressive undertones at his rallies. Trump's Republican rivals have blamed Trump for fostering a climate of violence and escalating tension at campaign events. Trump himself did not condemn the acts of violence that occurred at many of his rallies, and encouraged it in some cases.

In November 2015, Trump said of a protester in Birmingham, Alabama, "Maybe he should have been roughed up, because it was absolutely disgusting what he was doing." In December, the campaign urged attendees not to harm protesters, but rather to alert law enforcement officers of them by holding signs above their head and yelling "Trump! Trump! Trump!". Trump has been criticized for additional instances of fomenting an atmosphere conducive to violence through many of his comments. For example, Trump told a crowd in Cedar Rapids, Iowa that he would pay their legal fees if they engaged a protester.

On February 23, 2016, when a protester was ejected from a rally in Las Vegas, Trump stated, "I love the old days—you know what they used to do to guys like that when they were in a place like this? They'd be carried out on a stretcher, folks." He added, "I'd like to punch him in the face."

Timeline

Protests against Trump primarily began following Trump's announcement of his candidacy, especially after stating that Mexican migrants were "bringing drugs, bringing crime, they're rapists". The protests proceeded through the rest of 2015 and into 2016.

2015

June

• June 16 – Trump held an announcement of his candidacy for President of the United States.
• June 25 – Univision cut ties to Trump and announced it would not run the Miss USA pageant. Reggaeton singer J Balvin also canceled his future show at the Miss USA event that was to be held July.
• June 29 – At a luncheon in Chicago, about 100 protesters gathered across from the City Club of Chicago to demonstrate.
• June 30 – NBC and Televisa announced that they were no longer involved with Donald Trump. NBC stated that their business partnerships were cancelled due to Trump's "derogatory statements ... regarding immigrants" and that they would "no longer air the annual Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants".

July

A protest against Trump at the future Trump International Hotel Washington D.C. on July 9, 2015.

• July 1 – Clothing retailer Macy's announced that it had cut ties with Trump. Mattress company Serta released a statement that the company "values diversity and does not agree with nor endorse the recent statements made by Mr. Trump" further saying their business relationship with Trump was over.
• July 6 – ESPN, the Professional Golfers' Association of America, and the United States Golf Association announced that they would no longer hold their events at the Trump National Golf Club in Los Angeles in 2015.
• July 7 – Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation, a clothing producer that made Trump's brand of clothing, announced that it would begin to cease production of Trump's brand.
• July 9 – In Washington, D.C., a group of protesters gathered outside of the future Trump International Hotel Washington D.C. to demonstrate and "call for a worldwide boycott of Trump properties and TV shows".
• July 10 – While Trump spoke at a Friends of Abe gathering, about 150 protesters gathered with signs and hitting piñatas made in the image of Trump. A smaller group of Trump supporters gathered near the protests and caused tension, with one Trump supporter beginning to jab at protesters.
• July 12 – Protesters interrupted Trump at a speech in Phoenix, Arizona, with a large sign and were later escorted out while Trump supporters chanted "U-S-A!".
• July 23 – Trump arrived in Laredo, Texas, and was greeted by protesters while others gathered in support.

August

• August 11 – About 150 protesters gathered in Birch Run, Michigan outside of a rally at the Birch Run Expo Center, gathered by the Democratic Party of Michigan due to what they called "anti-immigrant, anti-veteran statements" made by Donald Trump.
• August 25 – During a press conference, Univision anchor Jorge Ramos began to question Trump since before being called on. After being told "Sit down! you weren't called" and "Go back to Univision", Ramos continued to protest Trump's plan to deport illegal immigrants and their children born into citizenship in the U.S. Trump motioned to his security, with Keith Schiller removing Ramos from the event. Trump later met with Ramos alone.

September

• September 3 – Trump's chief of security, Keith Schiller, was filmed punching a protester.

October

• October 14 – In Richmond, Virginia, several clashes broke out between protesters and Trump supporters.

November

• November 7 – Over 200 protesters, many of them Latino, demonstrated outside of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, where Trump was hosting Saturday Night Live.

December

• December 4 – After being interrupted ten times during a speech in Raleigh, North Carolina, Trump ended his rally.
• December 12 – Many protesters heckled Trump during a rally in Aiken, South Carolina.
• December 22 – Trump's speech was interrupted more than ten times at a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with dozens of protesters being ejected. Trump characterized the protesters as "drugged out", antagonized them by calling them "so weak for not fighting security", and asked protesters why they interrupted him "in a group of 9,000 maniacs that want to kill them".

2016

January

Trump Protest in Lowell, Massachusetts, January 2016

• January 4 – Protesters interrupted Trump several times in Lowell, Massachusetts, with some chanting support for Bernie Sanders and the Black Lives Matter movement.
• January 8 – During Trump's visit to Burlington, Vermont, about 700 protesters demonstrated in the City Hall Park.

February

Error creating thumbnail: secnd-locn'/usr/local/bin/ffmpeg' -threads 1 -ss 169 -y -i '/usr/local/www/mediawiki/w/images/a/a8/3_11_2016_Trump_Rally_at_UIC_Pavillion_-_Right_after_news_of_Trump'\s_Postponement.webm' -ss 3 -s 1280x720 -f mjpeg -an -vframes 1 '/tmp//transform_e13f61d641cb.jpg' 2>&1
wgMaxShellMemory: 409600
ffmpeg version 6.0 Copyright (c) 2000-2023 the FFmpeg developers
built with FreeBSD clang version 14.0.5 (https://github.com/llvm/llvm-project.git llvmorg-14.0.5-0-gc12386ae247c)
configuration: --prefix=/usr/local --mandir=/usr/local/man --datadir=/usr/local/share/ffmpeg --docdir=/usr/local/share/doc/ffmpeg --pkgconfigdir=/usr/local/libdata/pkgconfig --disable-static --disable-libcelt --enable-shared --enable-pic --enable-gpl --cc=cc --cxx=c++ --disable-alsa --disable-libopencore-amrnb --disable-libopencore-amrwb --enable-libaom --disable-libaribb24 --enable-asm --enable-libass --disable-libbs2b --disable-libcaca --disable-libcdio --disable-libcodec2 --enable-libdav1d --disable-libdavs2 --disable-libdc1394 --disable-debug --enable-htmlpages --enable-libdrm --disable-libfdk-aac --disable-libflite --enable-fontconfig --enable-libfreetype --enable-frei0r --disable-libfribidi --disable-gcrypt --disable-libglslang --disable-libgme --enable-gmp --enable-gnutls --enable-version3 --disable-libgsm --enable-iconv --disable-libilbc --disable-libjack --enable-libjxl --disable-libklvanc --disable-libkvazaar --disable-ladspa --enable-libmp3lame --enable-lcms2 --disable-liblensfun --disable-libbluray --enable-libplacebo --disable-librsvg --disable-librtmp --enable-libxml2 --disable-lto --disable-lv2 --disable-mbedtls --disable-libmfx --disable-libmodplug --disable-libmysofa --enable-network --disable-nonfree --enable-nvenc --disable-openal --disable-opencl --disable-opengl --disable-libopenh264 --disable-libopenjpeg --disable-libopenmpt --disable-openssl --disable-libopenvino --enable-optimizations --enable-libopus --disable-pocketsphinx --disable-libpulse --disable-librabbitmq --disable-librav1e --disable-librist --enable-runtime-cpudetect --disable-librubberband --disable-sdl2 --enable-libshaderc --disable-libsmbclient --disable-libsnappy --disable-sndio --disable-libsoxr --disable-libspeex --disable-libsrt --disable-libssh --enable-libsvtav1 --disable-libtensorflow --disable-libtesseract --disable-libtheora --disable-libtwolame --disable-libuavs3d --enable-libv4l2 --enable-vaapi --disable-vapoursynth --enable-vdpau --disable-libvidstab --enable-libvmaf --enable-libvorbis --disable-libvo-amrwbenc --disable-libvpl --enable-libvpx --enable-vulkan --enable-libwebp --enable-libx264 --enable-libx265 --disable-libxavs2 --enable-libxcb --disable-libxvid --disable-outdev=xv --disable-libzimg --disable-libzmq --disable-libzvbi
libavutil 58. 2.100 / 58. 2.100
libavcodec 60. 3.100 / 60. 3.100
libavformat 60. 3.100 / 60. 3.100
libavdevice 60. 1.100 / 60. 1.100
libavfilter 9. 3.100 / 9. 3.100
libswscale 7. 1.100 / 7. 1.100
libswresample 4. 10.100 / 4. 10.100
libpostproc 57. 1.100 / 57. 1.100
[matroska,webm @ 0x860838280] File ended prematurely
Last message repeated 2 times
Input #0, matroska,webm, from '/usr/local/www/mediawiki/w/images/a/a8/3_11_2016_Trump_Rally_at_UIC_Pavillion_-_Right_after_news_of_Trump's_Postponement.webm':
Metadata:
encoder  : Lavf56.7.101
Duration: 00:06:23.11, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 118 kb/s
Stream #0:0: Video: vp8, yuv420p(progressive), 1280x720, SAR 1:1 DAR 16:9, 30 fps, 30 tbr, 1k tbn (default)
Stream #0:1: Audio: vorbis, 44100 Hz, stereo, fltp (default)
Stream mapping:
Stream #0:0 -> #0:0 (vp8 (native) -> mjpeg (native))
Press [q] to stop, [?] for help
[swscaler @ 0x8652c7c00] deprecated pixel format used, make sure you did set range correctly
[matroska,webm @ 0x860838280] File ended prematurely
Output #0, mjpeg, to '/tmp//transform_e13f61d641cb.jpg':
Metadata:
encoder  : Lavf60.3.100
Stream #0:0: Video: mjpeg, yuvj420p(pc), 1280x720 [SAR 1:1 DAR 16:9], q=2-31, 200 kb/s, 30 fps, 30 tbn (default)
Metadata:
encoder  : Lavc60.3.100 mjpeg
Side data:
cpb: bitrate max/min/avg: 0/0/200000 buffer size: 0 vbv_delay: N/A
frame= 0 fps=0.0 q=0.0 size= 0kB time=-577014:32:22.77 bitrate= -0.0kbits/s speed=N/A
frame= 0 fps=0.0 q=0.0 Lsize= 0kB time=-577014:32:22.77 bitrate= -0.0kbits/s speed=N/A
video:0kB audio:0kB subtitle:0kB other streams:0kB global headers:0kB muxing overhead: unknown
Output file is empty, nothing was encoded (check -ss / -t / -frames parameters if used)

Trump rally at UIC Pavilion in Chicago on March 11, 2016 immediately after news of Trump's cancellation of attendance of the event. Many protesters cheer "Bernie!" to show their support for Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders.

• February 27 – In Valdosta, Georgia, 30 Valdosta State University students were asked to leave a college venue leased by the Trump campaign for a speech.
• At a rally on February 29, veteran photojournalist Chris Morris was grabbed by his throat and thrown to the ground by a member of the Secret Service.

March

File:Michelle-fields-incident.jpg

Corey Lewandowski is seen allegedly grabbing the arm of reporter Michelle Fields in this still frame from video taken March 8, 2016, and released by the Jupiter Police Department on March 29, 2016.

• March 1 – Kashiya Nwanguma attended a Trump rally in Louisville, Kentucky, with two anti-Trump signs. She reported that Trump supporters ripped her signs away and shouted insults at her.
• March 10 – As Trump was being led by police from a rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina, a protester was punched by a Trump supporter. Charges of assault and battery were filed by the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office. On March 10, a protester being led by police from a rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina, was sucker punched by John McGraw, a Trump supporter. McGraw later told the media that the next time he saw the protestor, "we might have to kill him." McGraw was subsequently charged with assault and battery. On Meet the Press, Trump said that he had instructed his team to look into paying McGraw's legal fees and said, "He obviously loves his country."
• March 11 – During a rally in St. Louis, at which Trump was "repeatedly interrupted by protesters, violence broke out between supporters of Trump and protesters, resulting in 32 arrests." A planned event for later that day in Chicago drew confrontations between supporters and protesters in the arena at the University of Illinois at Chicago before Trump could come out to speak, due to an unusually large amount of protesters, and the campaign cancelled the rally due to safety concerns. Trump stated that he made the decision himself, commenting, "I didn't want to see people get hurt [so] I decided to postpone the rally."
• March 12 – Thomas Dimassimo, a 32-year-old man, attempted to rush the stage as Trump was speaking at a rally in Dayton, Ohio. Dimassimo was stopped by Secret Service agents and subsequently charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct and inducing panic.
• March 13 – Trump refused to take responsibility for clashes at his campaign events, criticized protesters who have dogged his rallies, and demanded that police begin to arrest rally protesters. His Kansas City rally was interrupted repeatedly by protesters in the arena while protesters outside the event were pepper sprayed by police. In an effort to dissuade future protesters, Trump may begin to request that protesters be arrested "[b]ecause then their lives are going to be ruined."
• March 17 – During an interview with CNN, Trump predicted "you'd have riots" if were denied the Republican nomination despite having the most delegates at the convention.
• March 18 – Between 500 and 600 people engaged in a standoff outside of a rally in Salt Lake City, Utah. Police officers formed a human barricade to separate the two groups, who largely remained nonviolent. Towards the end of the rally, protesters tore down a security tent at a Trump rally in Utah and threw rocks at rally attendees as they left. Two people unsuccessfully attempted to breach the entrance of the venue. Secret Service officers secured the inside of the venue and roughly 40 police officers in riot gear repelled the protesters from entering the building. No arrests were made.
• March 19 – Thousands of anti-Trump protesters in New York chanted "F*ck Trump!" and "Donald Trump! Go away!" as they rallied around the Trump International Tower building near 60th St. and Columbus Circle. The group was followed by dozens of NYPD officers who lined the streets with metal barricades and blocked the protesters path as they tried to cross busy intersections. After violence broke out, police pepper-sprayed the crowd, whom police refused to let cross the street. During a simultaneous protest, protesters blocked a highway leading to Trump's Fountain Hills, Arizona rally, leading to three arrests. During a separate rally in Tucson, Arizona later that night, a black Trump supporter was arrested after punching and stomping a white protester who had donned a KKK hood.

April

Protests in New York City on April 14, 2016. One banner reads "Fuck UR Wall", denouncing Trump's policy on immigration.

• April 14 – Hundreds of protesters gathered in a New York City Hyatt hotel against the wishes of the hotel staff.
• April 24 – Sean Morkys, a 20-year-old man, was arrested and charged for threatening to bomb a Trump rally in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
• April 26 – Clashes between Trump supporters protesting an anti-Trump resolution and anti-Trump protesters in Anaheim resulted in five Trump supporters, including two children, being pepper-sprayed.
• April 28 – Several hundred protesters in Costa Mesa, California, clashed with police and Trump supporters outside the OC Fair & Event Center, where Trump was holding a rally. Seventeen people were arrested and five police cars were damaged.
• April 29 – Around 1,000 to 3,000 protested in the area surrounding Burlingame, California, where Trump was to give a speech at the California GOP convention. Protesters rushed security gates at one point and were seen harassing Trump supporters. Activists blocked a main intersection outside the event and vandalized a police car. Eventually, the police restored order in the area. For safety reasons, Trump himself was forced to climb over a wall and enter through a back entrance of the venue.

May

• May 1 – Thousands of May Day demonstrators marched in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday, some speaking out in support of workers and immigrants, others criticizing Trump. LAPD Sergeant Barry Montgomery told The Los Angeles Times that no one was arrested. Some protesters carried a big inflatable figure of Trump holding a Ku Klux Klan hood in his right hand.
• May 7 – Protesters shouting "Love Trump's Hate" met Trump supporters before his second rally in Washington. Many protesters outside spoke out against Trump's words and policy stances regarding women, Hispanics, and Muslims, including his plan to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico. Later in the day, a group of protesters blocked a road near where Trump was supposed to speak, hoping to keep him from reaching the location. According to authorities, "a small number of arrests" were made.

Trump with two United States Secret Service agents beside him wearing pins related to the agency.

• May 24 – Following a rally in Albuquerque, New Mexico, rioters began throwing rocks and bottles at police and police horses, smashed a glass door at the convention center, and burnt a number of Trump signs and flags, filling the street with smoke. Video footage of the incident also showed rioters jumping on top of several police cars.
• May 25 – Anti-Trump protesters were arrested after clashing with Trump supporters in Anaheim.
• May 27 – Anti-Trump protesters clashed with Trump supporters and with police after a Trump rally ended in San Diego. Protesters waved Mexican flags and signs supporting Bernie Sanders. Some protesters were arrested when they attempted to push past railings separating them from the Convention Center where Trump was speaking. The clashes, largely verbal and resulting in no injuries or property damage, began after the Trump rally ended and his supporters poured into the street, individuals on both sides shouted and threw trash and the occasional punch, but no injuries or property damage was reported. Police then declared the protest an illegal assembly and ordered the crowd to disperse, further arrests were made when some members of the crowd failed to disperse. 35 people were arrested.

Security

Three types of security forces are generally present at Trump campaign events: United States Secret Service agents responsible for Trump's safety; local, or state, law enforcement officers responsible for the safety of everyone present; and private security details hired by Trump or by the venue. When a venue is rented by the campaign, the rally is a private event and the campaign may grant or deny entry to it with no reason given; the only stipulation is that exclusion solely on the basis of race is forbidden. Those who enter or remain inside such a venue without permission are technically guilty of or liable for trespass. Attendees or the press can be assigned or restricted to particular areas in the venue.

In March 2016, Politico reported that the Trump campaign hired plainclothes private security guards to preemptively remove potential protesters from rallies.