Trump supporters, protesters face off in noisy rival rallies at R.I. State House
A line of
"Hey, hey, ho, ho.
ON TWITTER: The scene as Trump backers, foes face off at State House
At one point, as the protesters cranked up their volume,
Trump's honorary
The pro-Trump rally in
"We're here to try to gain some momentum, to possibility get a meeting with
In
As the keynote speaker, DePetro declared, "We are gathered ... to send a message to the
"Help us get rid of the selfish, corrupt, incompetent politicians who hold our state hostage," DePetro said.
He continued: "Here in
"We Trump supporters are here as one, to become a force to change the state," DePetro said.
At one point, after DePetro took a several jabs at
There was no trouble until the two factions reached the State House, and then there was some pushing and shoving between a man in a "Defenders of
The police were able to divide and separate the groups and mitigate those confrontations, Verdi said, "so therefore there were no arrests, no incidents of violence." There were at least 50 Providence police, 30 state police, and some
The lawn was a sea of pro- and anti-Trump signs. From one side: "Women for Trump," "Trump patriotic Americans support their president," "Promises made, promises kept." From the other: "Freedom of speech is not freedom to lie," "Build love not a wall" and "Trump treason."
Gorman, who came to the rally with an American flag on his jacket, said he was particularly offended by "a large young lady there with more than enough cleavage showing, and she had a sign that said '[Expletive] Your Orders and [Expletive] Your Borders." Why? Regardless of how you feel about the situation you don't have to resort to vulgarity."
She added, "I'm just very concerned at the direction the country's taken. He [Trump] has unleashed something very toxic in this country, and I can't be quiet."
Around the edges of the crowd, respectful conversations broke out.
In his "Make America Great Again" hat,
Oh, Strate said, "He may not be if he screwed around with
"People throw around allegations, but you're innocent until proven guilty in this country," Carnevale argued. That's true, she said.
They kept talking. "Why not?" Strate said later. "I'm a nice person, and I think he is too. We're good people, we just disagree."
The two opposing rallies ended just before
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