Hundreds of people marched with the University of Illinois at Chicago Stop Trump—Chicago Coalition March 11, outside a planned rally by presidential candidate Donald Trump at the UIC Pavilion. Meanwhile, inside, others protested, shouted and raised anti-Trump signs. All those protesters were enough to scare away Trump from the event, and the candidate cancelled his speech.
Trump claimed the cancellation was in consultation with police and security, but those entities said they never spoke to Trump about canceling the event. Chicago Police arrested several protesters.
LGBTQs with rainbow flags were among the masses of people protesting against Trump's positions against immigrants, Muslims, LGBTQs, African-Americans and women, among others.
The group which organized the event, unaffiliated with any political party or elected official, "represents the voice of UIC students. By protesting, the coalition highlighted how Trump's dangerous rhetoric hurts them, their families, and their communities," they stated in a press release.
"Donald Trump's rhetoric incites hatred and violence," said UIC student Juan Rojas, one of the organizers of the protest. "We're standing up and showing him UIC and Chicago reject his bigotry."
The protest started on the UIC Quad with a speaking program of student leaders. Led by students holding a banner reading "Trump makes America hate, our students make America great," the hundreds of participants then marched on Racine Avenue past the UIC Pavilion.
"UIC students place great importance on diversity, but Trump represents a threat to those values. This protest showed that his divisiveness has no precedent or place on their campus," they said.
Many non-UIC students were part of the coalition at the event.
