Chicago, I’m proud of the way we came together to send a loud and clear message that Trump and the hate that is churning in his rallies and within his supporters is NOT welcome here. We shut down the rally and that’s a victory for us all. I hope other cities do the same.
Most of what I observed was peaceful protest. THOUSANDS were on the streets that night but the media focused on the individual instances of violence. Sadly, that’s what they are most interested in showing the public, contributing to the fear and speculation that these protests are chaotic and dangerous.
In a somewhat uncharacteristic move, Chicago Police were being very heavy-handed in how they tried to force protesters out of the intersection at Racine and Van Buren. Police would swarm in packs of 50 at a time — crowding in protesters and attempting to create a wall of force to push protesters around. I saw someone get hit with a billy club and several people pushed to the ground. Even with repeated instances of police officers aggression, the majority of the protesters remained peaceful.
Below are some of the images I captured from #DumpTrump in Chicago.
