Tag: Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh Erupts in Protests at Trump Rally

Protesters at Trump rally in Pittsburgh, PA.

Protests erupted between Donald Trump supporters and anti-Trump protesters at a Pittsburgh convention center where the Republican front-runner held a campaign rally.

Hundreds of demonstrators awaited Trump backers outside the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, dancing and shouting epithets about the presidential hopeful. At the height of the chaos, police shoved and Trump backers lingered for confrontations.

A drum pounded, signs waved and megaphones blared near an exit for the rally, which drew thousands of attendees. Trump backers and protesters shouted at each other in some areas. In others, the demonstration had an almost jubilant flair, with protesters dancing as they chanted: “Hey hey, ho ho, racist bigots have to go,” or “Fuck Donald Trump.”

Inside, the Trump rally had been among the least eventful of his campaign. One protester disrupted Trump’s speech, held just under two weeks before the state’s Republican primary. Several anti-Trump activists stood silently inside the convention hall exit with their fists raised in the air.

Convention staff and police eventually closed the exit near the protest, shuttling away rally attendees and reporters. Officers wearing riot gear walked demonstrators away from the convention center around 40 minutes after Trump’s speech ended. The crowds dispersed as people filtered through the streets of downtown Pittsburgh.

Police were on alert before the event after a group called “Pittsburgh Open Carry Events in Support of Trump” said members would be armed and patrolling outside Trump’s Oakland appearance, according to the Pittsburgh City Paper. Their objective? To stop any attempts of roadblocks much like the one protesters ended up creating Wednesday, according to one user.

Media

Full event:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggVfaHKiLaw

Protesters:

Video of protests:

Protesters and supporters meet:

Trump supporter claimed he has video of violence, instead shows video of him talking about violence:

Reporter shoved by police: