I pretended to be a Trump supporter to infiltrate his Chicago rally

His fans seemed as scary IRL as they do on TV.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump was set to take the stage at University of Illinois at Chicago​'s Pavilion at 6 p.m., local time, on Friday, and early estimates predicted more than 10,000 protesters would attend. I was one of them.

The Windy City’s population is 33 percent black and nearly 29 percent Latino, and 51.5 percent of Chicago residents are women. Fear and hatred of these groups have fueled Trump's presidential campaign, but on Friday, we Chicagoans said no.

It was a sunny, crisp, and tense day in the city. At around 2 p.m., I met a group of about 10 protesters gathered at the university quad. There were several groups, ranging from small sizes like ours, to bigger ones of almost 50 people. Some planned to march and demonstrate across the street from the university, while others planned to go inside and disrupt Trump’s messages of fear, bigotry, and anger.

I was going inside because I was angry, too. I’m sick of hearing putdowns of women’s looks, calls to deport every single “illegal immigrant,” and descriptions of Trump’s future U.S.-Mexico border as a “beautiful wall.” I’m angry that so many believe in this man and what he says.

Because Trump's supporters have a history of committing violent acts against protesters, some of us were afraid. Just this Wednesday at Trump’s North Carolina rally, police were escorting a black protester—who said he never touched anyone in the crowd—out of the event, when he was sucker-punched in the face by an attendee. The Trump fan was later recorded saying, “Next time, we might have to kill him."

One college-aged woman asked our protest group’s leader, “Are people going to lay hands on us? I’ve seen that at other rallies.”

I was born in Ohio! This is my flag!

“Some people are a little angry,” another leader answered. “Don’t be shy about it—be loud and aggressive. Chant until you’re out of the building. Because we’re all going to get kicked out.”

We walked to the back of the line, which felt like it was nearly a mile long, and saw other protesters across the street. One Latino man holding a huge American flag yelled, “I was born in Ohio! This is my flag!”

Because Trump’s rally was a private event, officials could refuse anyone entry (protesters who don’t keep their cool before infiltrating often get discovered, and never make it past security). It would be at least an hour before we got inside.

Our protest leader blended in almost too well, chatting up a twenty-something man about how smart former GOP candidate Ben Carson is, and how much Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton sucks. I felt the need to chime in, so I said that if GOP candidate and Ohio Gov. John Kasich wanted what was best for his party, he’d drop out now, so someone else could get his votes. Listening to the twenty-something talk about all the “good changes” Trump would make got my blood boiling, but I decided to keep my mouth shut until we got inside.

When we finally arrived at the ticket-checking gates, I looked longingly across Harrison Street at my fellow Trump protesters. I was nervous to be in such close proximity with his supporters, and wanted to be among like-minded people instead.

Last December, the billionaire’s supporters yelled “Light the motherf*cker on fire,” as a protester was ejected from a Nevada rally. 

And about ten minutes into the Trump rally, this happens. pic.twitter.com/65pXHjsJ3x

“People were yelling racial epithets and hateful things,” the protester said. “I heard the n-word a couple of times.”

Meanwhile, last October, Trump’s supporters chanted “USA! USA!” as a Latino protester was shoved, kicked, and dragged out of a Florida rally. And in January, they asked a Muslim woman, “Do you have a bomb?” as police escorted her out of a South Carolina rally despite the fact that she staged a silent, peaceful protest.

I thought Trump’s fans seemed as scary in person as they did on television.

When we finally arrived in the pavilion with two hours to go before Trump’s scheduled appearance, the venue was nearly half full. I took a seat in the crowd with another protester, and we managed to blend in.

We chatted up a middle-aged gay couple there to support Trump: One of them said he was from Italy, and explained how difficult it is to become an American citizen, while his partner said he couldn't tell any of his friends in Italy that he’s attending a Trump rally. “Europeans hate Trump,” they told us.

I don’t want to get caught on camera pushing someone around.

I thought: Yeah, no sh*t.

But instead, I said, “God, how annoying.”

I heard some bro-y guys behind me talking about “all the f*cking Muslim kids who are coming in.”

“Do you want to go down to the main floor?” one asked the group.

“Nah,” another answered. “I don’t want to get caught on camera pushing someone around. Know what I mean?”

I thought they were just random men, but my protest buddy thought he heard them say they were cops. Needless to say, we decided to move elsewhere.

A group of pro-Muslim Trump protesters were the first to get kicked out of the venue with an hour to go before the event officially started. 

Many protesters wore decoy T-shirts so that they'd make it past security. The pro-Muslim group removed theirs to reveal homemade tees with slogans like, "Muslims united against Trump." As they were being removed, the group raised their fists high in the air. Other protesters cheered them on, while Trump supporters booed. 

In response, a group of six or seven teenaged-looking white boys chanted, “We want a wall!”

Although the pavilion was not packed to capacity, the air in the building felt full and thick with awful energy. I felt sick to my stomach.

When Black Lives Matter protesters chanted, “Let him stay!” about another black protester who was being kicked out, a tall white man ran towards them, screaming, “All lives matter!”

At that point, I wasn’t nervous anymore—I was pissed. I tried to think of a chant that would feel just right; I knew it would include the f-word.

After the white man who was hassling the Black Lives Matter group was finally removed, a scary-sounding voice boomed over the loudspeaker. It told the crowd that some people at the rallies were there to “take advantage of Mr. Trump’s hospitality” to “promote their own political agenda.”

The speaker voice told the crowd to shout down protesters by chanting “Trump!”—and they complied.

At around 6:30 p.m., a man wearing a suit took the stage, and told us that "Mr. Trump" had arrived in Chicago. The crowd cheered until the man interrupted to announce that the rally was postponed due to safety concerns.

There was a brief moment of silence before those of us who stayed quiet to protest the event revealed ourselves. ​About one-third of the crowd erupted in triumphant cheers loud enough to sound like the pavilion was filled to capacity. Chants included, “F*ck Trump,” “Si se puede” ("Yes, we can" in Spanish), “Racists go home,” and Kendrick Lamar’s “We gonna be alright.”

Trump supporters were pissed, but the rest of us were too happy to care.

"We gonna be alright we gonna be alright" #TrumpRally pic.twitter.com/uCbpk1GIlC

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