Hundreds expected to protest Trump rally in Bloomington

Posted on March 12, 2016

By Eric Stock

BLOOMINGTON – More than 600 people plan to protest Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump’s scheduled campaign rally in Bloomington on Sunday.

The group calling itself ‘Dump Trump’ plans to gather outside Synergy Flight Center prior to the 10 a.m. event and will try to get some protesters inside the venue.

PODCAST: Listen to Dan Swaney’s interviews with State Sen. Bill Brady here and protest organizer Sonny Garcia here.

Organizer Sonny Garcia told WJBC’s Dan Swaney his group’s aim to vocally oppose Trump and what the group calls his ‘hate speech,’ but said the protest will be peaceful.

“We are a very disciplined and organized group,” Garcia said. “We are going to tell our people to remain calm and non-violent.

“We hope and pray that Trump’s ‘brown shirts’ don’t start beating people up who are protesting and exercising their First Amendment rights.”

Garcia said he planned to meet with Bloomington police officials on Saturday to ensure there will be sufficient police presence at the rally and protest.

A Trump event in Chicago was canceled on Friday after protesters clashed with supporters. State Sen. Bill Brady asks that civility be the order of the day.

“What makes this country great is opinion but do it civilly, don’t create the kind of havoc we saw in Chicago yesterday,” Brady said.

Garcia acknowledged he is a Bernie Sanders supporters for president, but said the Sanders campaign is not behind the protest. The event is being organized by several groups, including Occupy Springfield, the College Democrats of Illinois State University and the Immigration Rights Movement.

Tickets for the rally can be requested here. Information on the protest can be found here.

Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].

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