The atmosphere was kinetic just before noon on Oct. 28 as more than 1,000 protesters gathered along the Chicago Riveracross from Donald Trump's Chicago hotelwhile the president was attending a fundraiser that Chicago Cubs co-owner Todd Ricketts hosted.
Banging drums, blowing whistles, pounding overturned buckets and chanting "Trump Go Home," the protesters wanted to send a clear message that President Trump was not welcome in Chicago.
For supporters of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights ( ICIRR ), the events started earlier with a protest in front of the Art Institute of Chicago. ICIRR's Lawrence Benito voiced the group's intentions, saying, "We want to send a loud message that the president's policies aren't welcome in Chicago or the state of Illinois. Chicago has a long history of welcoming immigrants and we're going to sent that message loud and clear."
Marching to the intersection of Wacker Drive and Wabash Avenue, ICIRR joined Indivisible Chicago and numerous other groups. Indivisible Chicago Executive Director Darcy Regan echoed Benito's sentiments, saying, "We're here to express our First Amendment Rights and tell President Trump that he needs to go home. He's not welcome here."
A brass band performed as hundreds of home made signs waved and banners were unfurled.
Black Lives Matter & Women of Faith founder Carolyn Ruff shared why she wanted to be there: "We are all in this together. We need to fight to turn Trump out of the White House [and] we need to encourage our millennials to get out to vote. If we don't get out to vote, Trump will get back in the White House."