New York City Is About To Be Overrun By Donald Trump Protesters

My kind of town!


http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/04/11/3768136/donald-trump-new-york-city-protests/


New York City Is About To Be Overrun By Donald Trump Protesters

by Emily Atkin Apr 11, 2016 12:11 pm

CREDIT: AP Photo/Mary Altaffer

Demonstrators take to the street on during an anti Donald Trump protest, Saturday, March 19, 2016, in New York. Thousands more are scheduled to protest Trump in New York City on Thursday.
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Inside the 4-star Grand Hyatt New York on Thursday evening, Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump is scheduled to speak at the New York state Republican Gala, a high-status, black tie fundraising dinner that costs $1,000 to attend.

Outside the hotel, thousands of people are scheduled to protest the event — with the explicit intention of shutting it down. The demonstration is free to the general public.

“Trump’s rhetoric is an instigation to racist, anti-migrant and misogynist violence,” said Kalisa Moore, part of the Stop Trump Coalition, in an emailed statement previewing the protest. “As a matter of self-defense and protection of New Yorkers, we intend to do what the city’s elected so-called leaders refuse to do — and shut down Trump from spreading his hateful message.”

Only one protest has ever successfully “shut down” a Trump event. That was last month, when the number of demonstrators both inside and outside Trump’s University of Illinois-Chicago rally overwhelmed the event, prompting him to cancel it. Afterward, Trump complained that his First Amendment right to free speech had been infringed, though many pointed out that the First Amendment only protects private citizens from interference from the government.

Trump is certainly no stranger to protests — both in New York City and beyond. They most often pop up at his rallies, where his thousands of supporters usually overwhelm demonstrators with competing chants and, sometimes, physical violence.

But Thursday’s protest will be a bit different. For one, it’s taking place outside of an event that’s not solely about Donald Trump. Republican presidential candidates Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Ohio Gov. John Kasich are also scheduled to speak at the gala, which is taking place just five days before New York state’s primary election. So Trump will likely not enjoy insulation from the usual brand of raucous, die-hard Trump-defenders who attend his rallies.

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http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/04/11/3768136/donald-trump-new-york-city-protests/