‘Dump Trump’ Protests to Counter Trump Rally in Minneapolis
Minneapolis, MN – Large protests are expected today as Donald Trump is due to arrive at the downtown Target Center for a campaign rally promoting his 2020 presidential campaign. Many liberal, leftist, and anarchist groups are expected to oppose Trump’s appearance. Various pro-Trump and far-right factions have also shared violent rhetoric online in hopes of sparking a confrontation with anti-Trump protesters.
Unicorn Riot will be covering protests outside the Trump rally. Watch our live feed below and check our Twitter feed for more real-time updates.
[FULL COVERAGE OF TRUMP RALLY PROTESTS – Police, Trump Supporters Clash with Anti-Trump Protesters in Minneapolis]
Unicorn Riot also covered protests against Trump’s most recent rally in Minnesota, which was held at Nuss Trucking and Equipment in Burnsville.
Today’s planned Trump 2020 rally in progressive Minneapolis has been met with significant local discourse.
Far-Right Stirs Violence Against Anti-Trump Protests coming up on Oct 10 in Minneapolis, MN.@RealDonaldTrump announced a 2020 re-election rally in #MNdistrict5 of fervent political opponent Rep @IlhanMN 2 days after impeachment inquiry began against him. https://t.co/k9gX3L73Ym
— Unicorn Riot (@UR_Ninja) October 8, 2019
This past Monday, October 7, Mayor Jacob Frey instigated a ‘#WeAreMpls’ campaign to highlight what is beloved about the diverse City of Lakes. Frey kicked off the campaign with a personal story “of how a welcoming Somali community first made me feel at home.”
The Mayor doesn’t want the people of Minneapolis to get stuck paying the costs of Trump’s campaign rallies, and announced on October 8 in a press conference that the Trump campaign would be expected to “pay their bills.” He added that the decision to ask for payment up-front was a decision “to abide by the contract that we already have with AEG“, the corporate booking agent for the event.
“I’ll add, we don’t have a contract with the Trump campaign. We have a contract with AEG who is our booking agent.” — Mayor Frey, Oct 8
$530,000 has been requested from the Trump campaign, which still owes payments to at least 10 city-level governments for increased security costs surrounding his campaign rallies across the USA this past summer.
The Mayor clarified during the press conference that officers of the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) who will be on duty covering the Trump rally “are to use the Minneapolis police uniform. However, they can’t use the police uniform when they’re engaging in political events, or otherwise.” Frey noted also that the rules are to be applied “uniformly (no pun intended)” to all future politicians and political events.
“The Minneapolis Police Department is neither a Republican nor a Democrat entity. It is non-ideological, nor is it partisan. It is a neutral entity that is charged with ensuring the public safety of every single resident in the city of Minneapolis. That is not a partisan decision, that’s a decision for good public safety. Period.” — Mayor Frey, October 8
Both the Mayor and Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo agree that the city’s police department should not be politicized at all. However, Minneapolis Police Department far-right union head Lieutenant Bob Kroll has been vocal about his displeasure with the new restrictions. He used air time on Fox News to allege that cops are regular working-class people who simply want to show support to a sitting President. He complained about implicit bias training during the Obama years, and applauded the fact that “It’s been the exact opposite under the Trump administration.”
“Law enforcement nationwide has enjoyed his support, of he and his [Trump’s] administration, starting at the Department of Justice.” — Lt. Bob Kroll, October 9, 2019
Lt. Kroll has been battling the city of Minneapolis for years over whether he should be permitted to wear his city-issued work uniform while off-the-clock. He has since commissioned bright red “Cops For Trump” T-shirts as a way for pro-Trump officers to escalate the situation without formally breaking MPD uniform rules.
Kroll appeared again on Fox News wearing the shirt, much to the delight of the President.
The MPD union boss said during the interview he’s seen “a big groundswell of support between… behind the President and the Police” in an apparent Freudian slip. He later acknowledged that local politics are “very left” then minutes later seemed not to grasp why security for a MAGA rally, in the district of Somali-American Muslim Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, might incur higher costs than other political events.
TODAY, any Minneapolis #Police wearing red “Cops For #Trump” shirts at the rally this eve will be visibly identifying solidarity w/police union head in his fight w/city of Minneapolis over city-issued work uniforms.
Police’s Role in Anti-Trump Protests https://t.co/k9gX3L73Ym
— Unicorn Riot (@UR_Ninja) October 10, 2019
FULL COVERAGE OF TRUMP RALLY PROTESTS – Police, Trump Supporters Clash with Anti-Trump Protesters in Minneapolis
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