Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi endorsed Donald Trump. This isn’t news because Bondi became the first big-name Republican official in the state to endorse Donald Trump for president, but instead of reported bribes from 3 years ago.
In the fall of 2013, Bondi was preparing for a re-election bid and a for-profit college called Trump University had just been sued by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. The lawsuit alleged that Trump University had “scammed” more than 5,000 people out of more than $40 million by falsely promising to teach them the tools to Trump’s real estate success.
With media scrutiny mounting, the Donald J. Trump Foundation that September contributed $25,000 to Bondi’s campaign.
Bondi never followed New York’s lead in taking action against Trump and Trump University. Although there were complaints in Florida, the state never opened an investigation.
Reality
On Sept. 14, 2013, the Sentinel quoted a spokeswoman for Bondi who said that Florida’s attorney general was studying the New York lawsuit to see whether she wanted to take action in Florida as well.
Three days later, on Sept. 17, 2013, Trump’s foundation cut a $25,000 check to a committee associated with Bondi’s campaign. It was one of the largest checks that her “And Justice for All” PAC had received.
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.
Sun-Sentinel columnist Michael Mayo was ejected from a rally and threatened with incarceration for Donald Trump after he filmed attendees leaving the event early.
A Trump campaign official named Justin said something about needing to go to the media pen and Mayo declined. Justin, the campaign official said Mayo couldn’t film, who then chuckled, saying of course I could, seeing as how hundreds if not thousands of other attendees were doing the same thing. The Trump campaign official said Mayo would have to leave, and that they’d need to see law enforcement.
“Tell him we’re trespassing him,” the Trump campaign official told a deputy. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.”
The campaign official told Mayo to walk with him to talk to a law enforcement officer. Sgt. John Sluth for an explanation on why he had to leave.
“This is not a public park,” Sgt. Sluth said. “Tonight [this amphitheater] is rented by the Donald Trump campaign and they are the ones who say who can come or go … It’s just like if you go to the BB&T Center and a representative from the Florida Panthers comes up and tells you that you have to leave, you have to leave.”
There was no rules or attachment, any guidelines attached to that ticket saying you can’t do this, or they didn’t ask me about if I was a newspaper person. I just showed up, went through the metal detectors like everybody else and was roaming around the crowd. And actually, the crowd everybody in the general admission crowd was using their phones to take photos and videos and was actually encouraged to post to social media by the campaign people and the warm up rallies, they even gave a special hashtag for the event. So they’re encouraging everybody to use their phones, to use social media tweet, Facebook and I did the same.
Mayo was able to get inside but was treated differently, singled out and targeted for ejection. It could have been because, as a reporter at a Trump event, he was not standing in a specially-barricaded “media pen” that credentialed media for the event were restricted to. As with the case with other attendees at the Boca Raton event, it could very well have been the color of his skin.
I did not try to get a media credential for the event. In my mind, there was no need to. I wasn’t writing on deadline, I didn’t have my computer, and I didn’t require any special access. I hadn’t agreed to any special ground rules or conditions, and I was simply doing the same thing that hundreds, if not thousands, of other attendees were doing.
I just wanted to be an Average Joe, free to mingle with my fellow South Floridians and experience this event like 6,000 others. As a columnist I often do things that way. It’s the exact same way I covered a Marco Rubio campaign rally on Super Tuesday (March 1) at Tropical Park in Miami.
I had no hassles or issues there.
But with Trump, as many people are finding out, things are different
It is important to note that, since Donald Trump is not the United States government, the First Amendment protection for peaceful assembly 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.
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.
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.
The police used pepper spray twice to disperse protesters outside Donald J. Trump’s rally here Saturday night, just 24 hours after confrontations between his supporters and demonstrators led to the cancellation of a Chicago event.
Cellphone video posted on social media appeared to show as many as four cans of spray being used at one point as protesters confronted police officers on foot and on horseback.
Kansas City Police Chief Darryl Forté on Sunday defended officers’ handling of protesters, including the use of pepper spray, at presidential candidate Donald Trump’s downtown rally.
Forté said on Twitter that the protesters on Saturday evening included a “heavy presence of known anarchists” and “outside agitators.”
Darin Snapp, a spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department, said officers used pepper spray outside Mr. Trump’s rally in an effort to “prevent protesters from taking over the street in an attempt to fight with rally supporters.”
He said no one was injured outside the rally, but two people were arrested — one on charges of throwing a bottle at the theater, and the other on a disorderly conduct charge for his “refusal to stay out of the street.”
During the event, inside a grand old theater with inlaid carvings, a chandelier, a mezzanine and upper deck, Mr. Trump, notably hoarse, called on the police to arrest people who were merely demonstrating. He drew some of the audience’s loudest cheers when he pledged, “I’ll file whatever charges you want.”
The police escorted people out throughout the event, though they did not appear to arrest anyone for just speaking up.
At one point Mr. Trump held up the protesters as examples of the kind of people his campaign was massed against: “It’s all a little group that wants free lunch.”
He also took a shot at another favorite target, the news media: “Look at those cameras, how they bend around,” he said, as a group of protesters was led off through an aisle, past the jeering crowd, early in the rally. “They’ll do anything for a shot. That’s why I love the protesters. The only way we find out how many people are in these places is through the protesters.”
Media
As you can see, we were far from what happened and were not involved but he in walked up spraying us pic.twitter.com/f22WB5FAAG
At a Trump campaign rally in St. Louis, MO., Mr. Trump was interrupted several times by multiple protesters. Lamenting that it was taking so long, he said:
Part of the reason it takes so long is nobody wants to hurt each other anymore!
Later Trump complained:
See, nowadays we have to say that, right? We have to be politically correct: “Oh, please don’t hurt them.” They’re allowed to get up and interrupt us horribly, and we have to be very, very gentle, and very gentle. They can swing, they can hit people, but if we hit them back, it’s a terrible, terrible thing, right?
They can get up and when they’re being whisked out, they can raise their bad finger up in the air … and some people get very angry at that. Because you know what that represents. And then when they get a little bit overly angry, they’re in trouble. The guy that raised his finger, that’s no problem. No, that’s no problem.
That’s when men starting walking of the rally with bloody faces.
Anthony Cage, 50, said he was demonstrating peacefully outside St. Louis’ Peabody Opera House March 11 when he was attacked by a Trump supporter.
“I was just standing still,” Cage said. “Somebody tapped me on the shoulder, and when I turned he sucker punched me. Of course, I tried to defend myself. We were on the ground when I was tackled by law enforcement.”
With thousands of people already packed into stands and music blaring to warm up the crowd, Donald J. Trump’s campaign abruptly canceled his rally here on Friday night over security concerns as protesters clashed with his supporters inside an arena where he was to speak.
Minutes after Mr. Trump was to have taken to a podium on the campus of a large, diverse public university just west of downtown, an announcer suddenly pronounced the event over before it had begun. Hundreds of protesters, who had promised to be a visible presence here and filled several sections of the arena, let out an elated, unstopping cheer. Mr. Trump’s supporters, many of whom had waited hours to see the Republican front-runner, seemed stunned and slowly filed out in anger.
The canceled rally came on a day that Mr. Trump sought to move past the primary fight, saying that the party needed to come together behind him.
Elsewhere, Mr. Trump’s security has tried to identify and exclude potential demonstrators before they enter his events, but large groups of protesters had waited in line for seats here, and engaged in tense disputes with Trump supporters even as the University of Illinois at Chicago Pavilion was still filling up. For more than an hour before the event was to begin, security teams led protesters out, one by one, but many more remained, sparring with Trump supporters.
In a statement, Mr. Trump’s campaign said:
“Mr. Trump just arrived in Chicago, and after meeting law enforcement, has determined that for the safety of all the tens of thousands of people that have gathered in and around the arena tonight’s rally will be postponed until another date,” the man said from a podium. “Thank you very much for your attendance, and please go in peace.”
Several fistfights between Trump supporters and protesters could be seen after the announcement, as a large contingent of Chicago police officers moved in to restore order.
Supporters of Trump still inside chanted “We want Trump” after the event was canceled. Protesters, meanwhile, shouted “We shut shit down” and “We stumped Trump.” Others chanted “Bernie” as supporters whipped out Bernie Sanders campaign signs.
On MSNBC, Mr. Trump said that after meeting with the law enforcement authorities, “I felt it was just safer. I don’t want to see anybody get hurt.” and again during an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity after the event cancellation, Trump stood by his campaign’s statement that they chose to cancel a Chicago rally Friday night at the recommendation of the Chicago Police Department:
We met with security and the law enforcement, who I think did a terrific job, and they told me it’d be best not to go in and do the speech.
Reality
Unfortunately for Trump the Chicago police spokesperson says there were no meetings between police and the Trump campaign about security:
CPD spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told the Associated Press that police never told the Trump campaign there was a security threat at the venue. He said the department had sufficient manpower on the scene to handle any situation. Guglielmi said the university’s police department also did not recommend that Trump call off the event. The decision was made “independently” by the campaign, according to Guglielmi.
Trump also accused Bernie Sanders’ supporters of sowing unrest at the event. Fox News and other right-wing media jumped on this and blamed Sanders for the protest. Watching the video it is obvious there was a handful of protesters on the first floor that started chanting “Bernie” but there is zero evidence Sanders orchestrated the protest. The more likely scenario was the racist and xenophobic Trump had his first rally at a liberally leaning city which resulted in a semi-organized pushback.
In an article in Breibart, reporter Michelle Fields explains how Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski grabbed her by the arm and threw her towards the ground.
When [Trump] approached me, I asked him about his view on an aspect of affirmative action.
Trump acknowledged the question, but before he could answer I was jolted backwards. Someone had grabbed me tightly by the arm and yanked me down. I almost fell to the ground, but was able to maintain my balance. Nonetheless, I was shaken.
The event was corroborated by eye-witness and fellow journalist Ben Terris in his Washington Post article. Not surprising, Trump’s campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks claimed the accusation is “entirely false” and said:
As one of dozens of individuals present as Mr. Trump exited the press conference, I did not witness any encounter. In addition to our staff, which had no knowledge of said situation, not a single camera or reporter of more than 100 in attendance capture the alleged incident.
When asked about the incident directly, Donald Trump claimed Fields “made it up.” Then, in a strange twist, the right-wing rage-factory breitbart.com, publicly threw their own reporter under the bus and published an article “debunking” Fields’ claims, going so far to show video just before the incident occurring as evidence that nothing happened. What was most interesting was in the same day Politico published the audio recording of the event.
Fields: “Mr. Trump, you went after the late Scalia for affirmative action, do you — are you still against affirmative action?”
VICE wrote an article today about all the evidence they complied that linked Donald Trump’s father, Fred Trump, with the KKK. You can read the entire article here.
