Rhode Island’s cultural diversity is one of our great assets, but our communities often experience different opportunities to engage and enjoy. If we want our state to be more equitable, we require courageous leadership and intentional investments in racial and economic equity and access.

As organizations committed to racial justice, we feel the issue of race has been missing from the discussion about Kennedy Plaza. We all want to see vibrant community commons that support our economic and community development. But we recognize that strategies like increased policing will continue to disadvantage the poor, especially people of color, and siphon dollars away from social safety net programs that uplift those most marginalized.

New England communities were built with public “commons,” but despite their name these public spaces have always excluded the most disenfranchised: the indigenous people whose land was stolen, the enslaved Africans who quite literally built our communities, and those who did not fit society’s image of proper decorum. This continues today, with increase policing and criminalization of black and brown bodies, those exhibiting impact of addiction or mental illness, and the poor and homeless.

As our allies who are advocating for the homeless pointed out in their excellent “Reclaiming our Public Spaces” report, we cannot simply sweep away the poverty that many don’t want to see. Poverty and homelessness have disproportionate impact on communities of color, in large part because of public policies that exclude particular racial and ethnic groups from the supports that help build wealth and economic stability. Public policies fit together like bricks to shape our society, and our vision for racial justice requires some shifts in thinking. More people with criminal records, out of our workforce and warehoused at public cost, doesn’t help us build the society we envision.

Rather than seeking to invest our resources in short-sighted efforts to remove people we have deemed “undesirable,” let’s make real investments in the type of community supports and assets that eliminate the need for panhandling, support mental health and addiction recovery, and provide living wage jobs for everyone, including those with criminal records. Let’s engage our business community support in increased wages, publicly funded detox and recovery support, development of affordable housing, and compliance with First Source and Ban the Box laws. Let’s provide meaningful, well-paying work opportunities for adults with moderate education, and support public access to skilled training and higher education for our youth. Let’s recognize that amenities like public restrooms, drinking fountains, increased seating, and charging stations will support many types of users. And let’s bring love and compassion to the struggle of all those in our community, even those whose circumstances or behavior might make us uncomfortable.

Mike Araujo, Executive Director, Rhode Island Jobs with Justice

James Vincent, President, NAACP Providence Branch

Chanda Womack, President, Board of Directors, Cambodian Society of Rhode Island

On behalf of the Racial Justice Coalition.

For its 9th Annual Festival PRONK! partnered with the STEP UP Coalition to support to the Community Safety Act (CSA). The goal of the collaboration was “to use music, dance and art to bring attention to injustices and inequalities in our city and encourage people across Providence to stand behind the legislation.”

The STEP UP Coalition is made up of the Providence Youth Student Movement (PrYSM), Direct Action for Rights and Equality (DARE), American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), Olneyville Neighborhood Association (ONA) and various other activist groups in Providence. The CSA is a citizen-proposed ordinance that would address racial profiling and other abuses of power by police. Mayor Jorge Elorza recently said the CSA could pass before the end of the year.

This is the ninth year for PRONK! (Providence HONK!) which takes place every Indigenous People’s Day. It is not a Columbus Day parade. Local bands, such as the Extraordinary Rendition Band, What Cheer? Brigade, and Kickin’ Brass participated, as well as bands from around the country. Organizers describe PRONK! as “a cacophonous street celebration with out of town brass bands! We are a street intervention like no other, with outfits and misfits from Rhode Island and beyond – musicians, artists, activists, makers – taking over the streets as part of the Providence HONK Parade.”

Organizers go on to say that PRONK! “spawned from the original HONK! Festival in Somerville, MA that has “grown into a new type of street band movement—throughout the country and across the globe—outrageous and inclusive, brass and brash, percussive and persuasive, reclaiming public space with a sound that is in your face and out of this world.”

Members of the Coalition to Pass the Community Safety Act (CSA) spoke out before Thursday night’s Providence City Council meeting about the importance of empowering local communities on policing.

“Providence needs the Community Safety Act because without it we feel unsafe,” said campaign coordinator Vanessa Flores-Maldonado in a statement. “The Coalition hopes that a public hearing will speak loudly to the need of an ordinance that seeks to hold police accountable when they harass and brutalize our community.

The Coalition, which is comprised of local community organizations and members, had previously submitted a petition on July 1 to have the city council hold a public hearing before going on their August break. However, the 90+ signatures submitted took 3 weeks to verify and no public hearing was scheduled within the 14 days required by the City Charter.

Malcus Mills of DARE (Direct Action for Rights and Equality) introduced three speakers, Dan, representing PrYSM (Providence Youth Student Movement), Wayne Woods of DARE, and Justice, speaking for RI Jobs with Justice.

Dan spoke about the gang database used by the Providence Police Department. If a youth is placed on the gang database list, they have no ability to remove their name or even check to see if their name is on the list. This may result in loss of job and educational opportunities in the future.

Right now, said Dan, the police, “judge people by their appearance, their race, gender etc, and they will say you are guilty… because they think you are part of a gang.”

Wayne Woods spoke of being profiled and pulled over on the East Side of Providence. After being removed from his car, searched, and then waiting for 20 minutes as his car was searched by police, he and his friend, both black men, were sent on their way. The police told the men, “To go home and take it easy.”

If the CSA were passed, said Woods, the car could only have been pulled over for probable cause and the police would have to issue a receipt to people they detain, outlining the conditions of the probable cause.

“A big part of why the CSA needs to be passed is so that we can hold people accountable to what they’re doing,” said Justice, representing Jobs with Justice. “Civil servants and law enforcement should be accountable just like other working people, and we need to be able to protect the people of Providence, we need to be able to protect the youth of color in Providence.”

The Providence Community Safety Act is a city-wide proposed ordinance that aims to hold police accountable and make communities safer. Developed by community members and organizations who are frustrated with police harassment and lack of accountability, the CSA has 12 key points that outline how police officers should interact with community members. These points range from video recording to traffic stops to the gang database.

Providence poet Christopher Johnson was on the verge of a career capstone this May when he was interviewed by Governor Gina Raimondo’s office for the position of state poet laureate. But that same month he was also arrested by Providence police and charged with assault, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. He’s concerned the arrest will hurt his chances of being named Rhode Island’s state poet. But the 45-year-old African American artist is even more concerned that his arrest was unlawful and racially motivated.

“I was definitely profiled,” Johnson said. “They had no reason to stop me except because I’m black.”

On May 18, Johnson went out with friends to listen to music in Providence. He was on hiatus from a nationwide spoken word tour about mass incarceration with the Everett Project. He’s recently performed at Trinity Repertory Theater as well as in Cincinnati, Ohio, Sedona, Arizona, Amherst, Massachusetts, among other locales. At about midnight, after what he called a “great evening with friends,” Johnson took the RIPTA bus back to his home in South Providence. That’s when he encountered Providence police officer Matthew Sheridan, whom Johnson said roughed him up – pushing him into a police car hard enough to dent it.

Johnson and a police report agree that he declined to give a police officer his name when asked. They disagree who first became combative.

“He grossly lied,” said Johnson of Sheridan. “That thing is filled with lies,” he said of the police report.

According to Johnson, “Because of the peculiar u-turn the officer made and the present climate of police/citizen relations across the country, I was on guard. I asked the officer why he wanted my name and he firmly made his request again. I told him if he does not give me a reason for the stop I do not have to give him my name. He exited his vehicle and blocked my path to my house. I tried to get around him and he grabbed me. I asked him if he was a public servant and if I was being detained. His reply was, ‘Why you got to go and do that?’ He grabbed me and threw me against the car.”

According to the police report, “in an attempt to check the well-being of the suspect [Sheridan] asked the subject who he was and where he was going. The suspect replied with ‘I don’t gotta tell you shit!’ It was at this time police stepped out of the vehicle and again asked the suspect where he was going the suspect this time pointed over Patrolman Sheridan’s shoulder and stated ‘over there’ Police asked what the exact address was to to which the unidentified male again stated “I don’t gotta tell you shit!” Police then asked the unidentified male to have a seat in the marked cruiser while police figured out where he lived. It was at this time the unidentified male pushed Patrolman Sheridan’s arm away and attempted to overpower Patrolman Sheridan. It was at this point Patrolman Sheridan took hold of the suspects arm and wrist and detained the suspect in the back of the marked cruiser.”

Johnson says he neither swore nor raised a hand to the officer. According to the police report, while being subdued by the officer, Johnson screamed “‘please don’t shoot me GOD don’t shoot me. the white cop is going to shoot me.'”

Providence Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare said it can be difficult to ascertain exactly what happened after the fact, noting that body cams are ideal for such situations.

“The officer is going to have to articulate to the court why he asked this man his name and where he was going,” he said. “I don’t know what was in the officer’s mind when he asked.”

A person doesn’t necessarily have to give a police officer their name just because asked, according to Pare. But that doesn’t mean the officer can’t ask, even more than once. “A police officer can ask a thousand times,” he said. “You don’t necessarily have to answer. If you don’t answer, fine. But the officer can press. It’s subjective.”

Pare hasn’t discussed the incident with Sheridan because no complaint has been filed. Based on his reading of the incident report, Johnson “certainly had a right to continue on his way,” Pare said.

Johnson said Sheridan denied him that right. “I kept trying to walk past him,” he said.

PrYSM, the Providence Youth Student Movement, a local group that is organizing for Black Lives Matter efforts locally such as passing the Community Safety Act, said Officer Sheridan should be fired because this is the third controversial arrest he’s been involved with. Sheridan has been a Providence police officer since 2014.

“For over a year, we have been getting complaints about the violent behavior of this city employee,” said Steven Dy, organizing director of PrYSM’s Community Defense Project.

Sheridan has been involved in two previous violent and high profile arrests.

Earlier this year, Sheridan was caught on a security camera in a violent melee at a Providence nightclub for which he was disciplined. In that incident, reported by WPRI, discrepancies between Sheridan’s police report and security camera footage presented in court caused the judge to dismiss the charges, pending good behavior.

“He was formally disciplined and he was given retraining,” Pare said.

Sheridan was also on the scene when a woman was repeatedly punched by a Providence police officer recently. Pare said, Sheridan “was a responding officer and his role was minimal and he had no physical interaction with any of the defendants.”

Dy, of PrYSM, said Sheridan has a reputation “for terrorizing people, especially on Broad Street” and said the incident with Johnson was clearly racially-motivated, aggressive policing.

‘The moment they saw him they assumed he was a criminal,” he said. “If it was handled differently, the outcome would have been completely different.

Johnson is eager to put the incident behind him. He said he’s hopeful some good can come out of it. As state poet laureate, he said, he’d like to organize poetry slams with Black Lives Matter activists and police officers. “I’d like to get the police involved in the community,” he said.

Marie Aberger, a spokeswoman for Governor Raimondo, said the governor’s office doesn’t comment on nominees for poet laureate. But she did say an arrest wouldn’t prevent an appointment. “An arrest would not preclude someone from being named to the position,” she said. “We’d look at all the other experiences and qualifications for the position, along with the seriousness of the alleged offense, the circumstances surrounding it, and the outcome.”

Christopher Johnson performing at AS220’s Empire Review (video Steve Ahlquist):

A subcommittee of the Providence City Council is slated to consider on September 1 the Community Safety Act – a proposed bill that would make police officers more accountable to the people they detain and reduce racial and other forms of discrimination.

A coalition of community groups called the Step Up Network have launched a campaign to promote the legislation – the group includes DARE, the American Friends Service Committee, Providence Youth Student Movement, the Olneyville Neighborhood Association and the White Noise Collective. On Thursday, a Black Lives Matter action called on the City Council to pass the CSA.

Providence Public Safety Commissioner Steve Pare does not support the Community Safety Act. RI Future has asked for an interview with Mayor Jorge Elorza about it. We will be reaching out to members of the City Council as well.

Click here to read the full text of the proposed Community Safety Act.

GoLocal

What the headline means, says Curtis Pouliot-Alvarez, staff attorney at Rhode Island Center for Justice, is that, “they don’t consider these people human. Instead they’re calling them an illness and a scourge on society.

“The real problem is poverty and the systems that create poverty” said Pouliot-Alvarez, and that’s what needs to be changed.”

Pouliot-Alvarez was joined by Shannah Kurland, a community lawyer at PrYSM and several others in congregating outside the GoLocal offices and asking passersby for money, “to buy GoLocal a heart.”

No one gave any money while I was there, and GoLocal never left their basement offices to talk to the protesters.

Steve Ahlquist’s excellent recent report on the events at the State House last week, wherein a woman of color, Vanessa Flores-Maldonado, was booed for mentioning police brutality, was the first domino in the chain of events that led to this. That blatant act of racism and misogyny so disgusted local activists of color that they felt it was imperative to hold another event at AS-220 on Friday, June 17 that would allow them to process through and mourn together in a safe place a man of color unleashing such violence against other people of color.

The evening began with a very emotional event that was so private I did not record audio or images. Several queer Muslims held a prayer service, the jumu’ah, attended by a variety of community members and allies, and led by a local Muslim professor who was sure to qualify that she was not an imam or Islamic scholar, just a prayerful believer who believed in God. The prayer leader had a queer niece who introduced her aunt and began to weep in the middle of her speech, saying at one point this was so important to her because “we as Muslims don’t talk about these things”. The congregation shared as one prayer mat a long and wide rainbow flag unfurled from the front of the main stage of AS-220. It was a breathtaking sight in its simplicity.

Following the prayer, the activists had a series of presentations articulating their feelings and emotions related to the events in Orlando. These included silly moments of singing classic gay karaoke tunes as well as moments of genuine sadness, with performers continuing to break down throughout. One instance was a queer male talking longingly of Omar Mateen, the Pulse shooter, asking in a painful tone not only why he had done these things but how he could have been so hurt by America’s white supremacist and homophobic culture to consider such violence legitimate. Another performer described his views as Marxist and queer while discussing how he is able to “pass” as white despite being a light-skinned Syrian.

The day before, Sam Husseini, an independent journalist who has given special notice to Arab news topic during his career, wrote this in a piece titled Noor Zahi Salman: Everything You’re Hearing About Me Is a Lie:

Some friends of Noor Zahi Salman are apparently speculating that what actually happened was that Omar Mateen was about to be outed as gay — and went nuts. This could have broader implications since “Israel surveils and blackmails gay Palestinians to make them informants.” That clearly is speculative. But far more responsible than speculation that is streaming forth from your TV.

The point that many of these queer and allied Muslims shared, regardless of their personal views regarding the Pillars of Islam, was that the Pulse shooter was one of them for multiple reasons and that his actions were an explosion of nihilistic rage not at homosexuality being condoned by a decadent libertine Western society as much as this self-proclaimed enlightened Western civilization being the central organ of racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and imperialism in the world today. They pulled no punches, including a moment when Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton were displayed in large glossy photos onstage as part of a musical number that repudiated both Democratic and Republican racism. One of these performances included a line that summed up these sentiments, “Not gay as in happy but queer as in fuck you!”

The next day was Pride. Throughout the day, white stage performers were consistently, when referring to Orlando, using derogatory language about Mateen that ‘othered’ him while failing to articulate any recognition of him as potentially bisexual or as a member of a religious minority currently experiencing a tremendous level of state-sponsored violence at home and abroad. There was zero recognition of how our war on Afghanistan would have radicalized him. Instead, he was described as a “thug” or “hoodlum” by the MCs, which included one white drag queen wearing a Clinton campaign button. Backstage, one could spy David Cicilline and Jorge Elorza yucking it up and totally at home in a corporate Pride event.

After the PrYSM action, they decamped from the Pride site and went to India Point Park to hold an alternative evening celebration. While Gina Raimondo and her husband, two people who have made a living off corporate welfare while demonizing pensioners, were greeted with adulation by the crowds at the Pride parade, these people of color were celebrating genuine diversity and actual progressive values.

Statistically speaking, we know that people of color and particularly African Americans are the most Left-leaning voting bloc in both the Democratic Party and the American population. Surveys have shown they are in favor for abortion and LGBTQQI rights, gun control, Affirmative Action, universal healthcare, expansion of Social Security, free college tuition, and even wealth redistribution via a progressive income tax and reparations for slavery or other instances of historic systemic white supremacy.

In other words, these are the people who would be by default akin to Scandinavian social democrats. The reason Bernie Sanders failed to make significant inroads this year with the black vote was because he ran a typical white northern liberal presidential campaign, centering his energies on white middle class population centers known for progressive attitudes, such as college campuses and middle class communities, while failing to reach into the black community population centers in a meaningful fashion, though the younger generation, many of whom are first-generation college students, in certain instances did embrace his candidacy. (How Tad Devine, a native of South Providence, could not figure that one out is truly bizarre.) Indeed, in a recent report on The Real News Network, it was said:

[T]he below of the Democratic party is black folks. We’re about 25 percent of that party. And if our presence was going to transform the party, we’d be seeing a very different kind of party politically. Black folks are the most left-leaning constituency in the United States, that’s been shown generation after generation.

Those facts in the macro sense defined the generational and ethnic gap between the PrYSM and Pride celebrants in the micro sense.

These politically-engaged young people of color did not feel like Bernie Sanders campaigned to them this year and feel like Jorge Elorza is a phony, playing heartstrings with his story of humble upbringing on the West End while failing to vocalize any critique of the financial institutions that are now holding Providence hostage at a time when Wall Street has lower popularity than the Johnston landfill. They understand that they could be the base of a progressive political leader but instead they are ignored by politicians while real estate interests and Brown University gentrify historic black neighborhoods on the East Side, in the West End and South Providence. They know that the Democratic Party is a force trying to destroy their community so to break up their progressive voting bloc’s power in city and state government. These are the points of conversation I had with various activists over the last few days leading up to the Pride action and so define the coordinates of where any actual post-Sanders movement is going.

White progressives should take note.

Before we begin, we would like to acknowledge that we are standing, marching, parading, and celebrating on stolen Narragansett and Wampanoag lands. We honor the indigenous communities whose lands we are occupying. We also honor the Black and Brown communities who have experienced and continue to experience violence on this land.

We are members, coordinators, and family of the Providence Youth Student Movement, also known as PrYSM. PrYSM organizes at the intersections of race, class, gender, and sexual orientation by centering youth, women, queer, and people of color leadership in our campaigns, our organization, and our communities. PrYSM mobilizes queer Southeast Asian youth, families, and allies to build grassroots power and organize collectively for social justice. Our program, Queer and Trans Thursdays creates safe spaces for queer and trans* people of color to advocate for ourselves, support our communities, organize for political empowerment, and build community.

This year, Rhode Island Pride has named PrYSM “Honorary Marshals” for the 40th RI Pride Parade. In addition, RI Pride representatives, in conjunction with Mayor Elorza, supports the over-policing and increased surveillance of RI Pride. According to Options Magazine, RI Pride representatives met on Monday, June 13th, with Providence Police, Rhode Island State Police, the Providence Emergency Management Association, and local business owners, “to review [their] safety plan and coordinate [their] efforts and communication,” after the Orlando mass anti-LGBTQ shooting. As a result of RI Pride and Mayor Elorza’s blatant disregard of the trauma, histories, and experiences of LGBTQ people of color with state violence, PrYSM rejects the position of Honorary Marshal. PrYSM rejects RI Pride’s tokenizing of communities of color. PrYSM rejects RI Pride.

In response to a tragedy where predominantly Latinx and other people of color were murdered, Rhode Island Pride defaulted to encouraging the police and other institutions that perpetuate violence against LGBTQ people of color to violate our communities. It is telling that RI Pride chose to work with local businesses and representatives of State Violence before communicating with the local and grassroots organizations that work to defend marginalized communities every day, and that RI Pride uses for its diversity shots in Pride propaganda.

The roots of Pride are embedded into a history of police violence. The Stonewall Uprising of 1969, and the courage of queer and trans* people of color fighting against police forces that continuously brutalized their communities catalyzed the first American Pride parades of 1970. Pride is a symbol of LGBTQIA communities’ survival against forces of oppression, hatred, and destruction. We must recognize that the police and the oppression they sustain are simply extensions of the violence that took the lives of our queer siblings in Orlando, of our queer siblings overseas slaughtered by U.S. warfare, and our queer communities attacked by the same cops who claim solidarity with us during Pride then beat us once the rainbow flags are lowered.

PrYSM has prioritized community safety since our inception, arising in response to gang violence that put the lives of Southeast Asian Youth at risk. PrYSM will be continuing our legacy of keeping marginalized communities safe and prioritizing the real NEEDS of communities of color. We will be boycotting Pride until RI Pride prioritizes queer and trans people of color.

We are calling for:

– Decreased police presence and surveillance of communities of color during RI Pride
– Financial and programmatic support of local grassroots organizations that seek to find alternatives to the police for community safety
– Rhode Island Pride must make public efforts to support LGBTQIA people facing or experiencing homelessness, to demonstrate support for our most endangered community members
– Rhode Island Pride must encourage other organizations to support the Community Safety Act, a city-wide ordinance that would protect the people of Providence against police misconduct.

PrYSM will be hosting an alternative Pride celebration later tonight at India Point Park from 6pm to 9pm. This celebration is for LGBTQIA-identified or allied people who would like a safe, welcoming, and free space to celebrate our survival and to heal from the violence against our community. If you would like to build community with us, you may speak to one of our coordinators or members to join.

For more information, contact Charles at cchhor@prysm.us or Helen at helen@prysm.us.

From a press release read today by the Providence Youth Student Movement (PrYSM) at Pride. PrYSM was chosen to serve as honorary marshals of this year’s parade.

Two local organizers, Artemis Moonhawk and Sarath Suong were honored at the Red Bandana Awards held at Nick-A-Nees in Providence Sunday. Music was provided by local virtuoso Chris Monti and the boisterous partying of the Extraordinary Rendition Band. Bill Harley, who heads up the Red Bandana selection committee presented the awards.

Artemis has been a long time advocate for the homeless, spending a large amount of her time and money helping to prepare meals and advocating for homeless rights. She came to the stage surrounded by the people she advocates for. She had invited them to the event to share the award with her and gave everyone who accompanied her a chance to speak if they chose.

The second award went to Sarath Suong, co-founder and organizer of the Providence Youth Student Movement, (PrYSM). Growing up in a Southeast Asian community in Boston, Suong told the audience that he learned two important lessons from mentors, “One, What’s happened to you and your people and your community is not because it’s your fault. And the second thing they told me is that what’s happening right now and what’s happening in your community, you have the power to change it.”

“I understand my place in this country as a child of war,” said Suong, “When we came here we were sort of a reminder of the Vietnam War, a reminder of a war that the US had lost.”

Suong used his time on stage to advocate for two important projects PrYSM is currently working on. The first one is the Community Safety Act. “We are trying to get passed a city ordinance that will hold the Providence Police Department accountable to the ways that they profile young people, poor people, people of color, queer and trans people… We need more police accountability. We need the police department to get their boots off our necks while we are trying to live.

“We need help,” continued Suong, “For those folks who live on the East Side of Providence or have friends and family or any influence in Providence, please contact Councilpeople [Samuel] Zurier and [Seth] Yurdin. And please urge them to really support the Community Safety Act.”

The second project Suong mentioned was getting the All Students Count Act 2016 (H7235) passed in the State House. “What’s really important for Southeast Asians is that we are lumped into a larger Asian racial category. What that does is erases the real struggles of Southeast Asian young people who will only graduate at 60 percent of the regular rate.”

Here’s a sample of some music from Chris Monti, who opened the show, followed by a song from the Extraordinary Rendition Band, who closed it out. Because of the rain, ERB was forced to perform inside, which is a shame because they are a wild outdoors dance band.

And here’s the entire awards ceremony, which starts with Bill Harley giving a short biography of journalist and community organizer Richard Walton, and explains why these awards are given in his name.

Jessie Justin, an organizer with White Noise Collective and Rhode Island resident, explained in a statement why she has come to protest, “Trump is actively building a culture of hate that directly threatens my Muslim, immigrant, and black neighbors, and we want to make it clear that here in Rhode we are united as a community. His anti-immigrant actions, racism, and Islamophobia are not welcome here.”

In a statement, the White Noise Collective explained that they…

…came to the event today as an affiliated group of Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ), a national network of groups and communities organizing white people for racial justice with passion and accountability to person of color leaders and organizations. SURJ groups around the country have been showing up to Trump rallies to speak out against racism, Islamophobia and xenophobia since the Trump’s campaign began in 2015, including a recent blockade action at Trump’s event venue in Wisconsin where six protesters were arrested.

“For us today was not about a presidential race,” says Beth Nixon, a member of White Noise Collective and Rhode Island native, “it’s about presenting an alternative vision to Trump’s: that the US can be an equitable country that welcomes and includes all people. As one of the wealthiest countries in the world, there are enough resources for everyone here to live with safety, health, and dignity.”

Meanwhile, outside, things became very heated. Once Trump’s motorcade entered the Crowne Plaza driveway, and Trump stepped from his car to wave at supporters, those outside the venue, including Trump supporters, Cruz supporters and Trump opponents, crossed the street and followed Trump as near to the tent behind the hotel where Trump was speaking as security would allow .

Trump fans, perhaps exasperated to have waited hours, only to find the venue too small to accommodate the full crowd exchanged words and chants with Trump opponents. While Trump supporters chanted “Build the Wall” and “Ten Feet Higher” opponents countered with “Black Lives Matter” and “Love Trumps Hate”.

Perhaps the darkest moment came when a Trump supporter assaulted a man. The police took the man who was punched into custody, handcuffing him. Trump opponents were outraged because the police seemed only interested in arresting the person with the darker skin, who was in fact the victim. Ultimately the man was released by police when video and photographic evidence proved the man was assaulted and only defending himself.

Trump fans also splashed two Trump opponents with liquid from a water bottle and grabbed a camera from another Trump protester and threw it on the ground. If there were more incidents like this, I did not see them.

Another moment that was worrisome occurred when a group of young male Trump supporters thought it funny to chant “Dicks out for Trump” at a young woman with a Black Lives Matter sign in her hands. This was a rape threat, plain and simple, even if it was delivered “humorously” as a police officer stood near by. This event highlighted the misogynistic undertone of Trump’s candidacy. Shirts were being sold outside and worn inside the event saying “TRUMP THAT BITCH!” on the back and in case that was too subtle, the front of the shirt features pictures of Hillary Clinton and Monica Lewinsky and the words, “Hillary sucks, but not like Monica”.

Perhaps the best way to describe the tenor of the event is to point out that one of the first speakers at the event, the warm up act, if you will, was WPRO radio “personality” John DePetro. In many ways the event was like a live, interactive version of his radio show… or a circle in Dante’s Hell.

Despite the incidents above, the protest and the event was largely peaceful, given the high level of emotions on both sides. Trump may have been interrupted, but he was never shut down or prevented from giving his fans the full Trump experience. In fact, disruptive protests have become so common at Trump rallies that the campaign runs a sort of public service announcement at the beginning of each show saying that protesters should not be touched but simply pointed out to security to be taken away.

Below are some pictures.