Posted on 03/14/2016 8:42:26 AM PDT by Iron Munro
Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump will hold a town hall meeting in Tampa today on the eve of the Florida primary. Trump will speak at 2 p.m. at the Tampa Convention Center. Admission are free, but spectators need to register at the Eventbrite website.
Security has been beefed up in the wake of protests at recent Trump rallies that have become violent. Trump called off a rally in Chicago on Friday due to concerns about possible confrontations with protesters and supporters, and on Saturday a man was arrested after jumping a fence and attempting to rush the stage while Trump was speaking.
One local protest began at 10:30 a.m. at MacDill Park on the Hillsborough River, next to land once slated for a tower that was to bear Trump’s name. Speakers were set to include representatives from the Florida Council of Churches and the Center on American Islamic Relationship. Participants are slated to march along the Riverwalk to the convention center.
That protest doesn’t plan on entering the convention center. Organizers urged participants to attend “in the spirit of nonviolence,” promising to turn in to authorities any lawbreakers in the group.
“This is a non-violent action and are not going inside,” organizer Kevin O’Hare wrote in a Facebook post. “Inside the event, as with all of Trump’s events, we cannot vouch for your safety. Any attempt to break the law, we will not hesitate to turn you over to the Tampa Police Department or Secret Service. If you are unable to adhere to this, please do not attend.”
According to reports, other demonstrators are planning to attend, some from outside the area.
Today’s campaign stop will impact traffic patterns in the downtown area, police said. Franklin Street in front of the convention center will be closed during the morning from Channelside Drive south to Old Water Street, the Tampa Police Department said.
Motorists who wish to get to Harbour Island can enter and exit using the Beneficial Drive bridge, east of Franklin Street, police said. The rally is expected to have a minimal effect on morning rush hour and the afternoon rush hour. Police said no other road closures are expected.
The rally comes ahead of the Florida primary, in which 99 winner-take-all delegates are available in the Republican race. Recents polls show Trump with a significant lead of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.
Trump will begin the day with a campaign rally at Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, North Carolina. He called off a rally at his Trump National Doral resort in South Florida to attend an event in Youngstown, Ohio.
Ohio, like Florida, will host its GOP primary on Tuesday and has 66 delegates available. Other primaries on Tuesday will be Illinois, North Carolina, Missouri, and a caucus in the Northern Mariana Islands.
Disrupters - domestic terrorists- let’s call them what they are.
It’s not even noon yet, that’s pretty early for a Bernie supporter
Excellent caption.
And here I sit at my desk.....working away.
This is the new pattern folks but it will NOT STOP the Trump Juggernaut...
Talk about the backbone of America right there. What a wonderful group of patriots. /s
Disrupters - domestic terrorists- let’s call them what they are.
**************
Yes, their objective is to kill free speech.
If Hillary was the target of their tactics, the media would immediately be demanding incarceration of the disrupters.
Hope Trump’s security is carrying baseball bats and score some homers.
Good Point!
Thanks to our tax dollars they have the day free to protest the horrible man who promises to create a job for them.
Do they really want jobs or just more handouts?
Nothing a few good sucker punches won’t fix.
Two things.
1) We hosted the RNC convention a few years ago. TPD is well-equipped to handle anything, after that.
2) “Protests” here are pretty laid back, by comparison. I expect there will be a protest and it will be uneventful. Even with a bunch of commies and BLM types in attendance, Tampa is not Chicago or Baltimore. Even the rabid factions usually manage to stay generally peaceful.
I kinda wish I could head downtown today to check this out. Sadly, I’m waiting for a family member to swing by and drop off her dog for me to watch for a week, so I’m tethered to the house.
Had a lot of fun downtown over the years attending the TEA Party rallies on my lunch breaks when I used to live/work there.
Thank God, we sure don't need any more of those!
Probably just stopped by on the way home from a night of drugging and mugging.
Slay them. Slay them all. Then fine them.
Where do these protesters and disrupters get the time and money to make trouble?
I have always had a job and family responsibilities, not to mention, little interest in wasting my time on questionable activities.
Where do these rent a thugs get the travel money to go around trying to disrupt? Would they do it if the media ignored them? Many times there are only a handful of protestors, who get a lot of unwarranted space on the news. Is our media that corrupt?
NOT YET.
But the democrat mayor and city council are doing their best to turn Tampa into just another democrat latrine.
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