From the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus to Trump Tower in New York and the Washington Monument, groups of hundreds of people rallied for President Donald Trump on Saturday, waving “Deplorables for Trump” signs and even carrying a life-size cutout of the president.
Chelsea Thomas, an accountant from Thornton, Colo., brought her family to the March 4 Trump rally in Denver — and the life-size cardboard cutout of Trump. She said the family has taken it with them on camping trips, boat rides and a country music festival.
“It’s nice to be surrounded by people who share your morals and opinions,” said Thomas.
Supporters at the rallies clashed with generally smaller groups of counter protesters.
Six people protesting the rally in St. Paul, Minn., were arrested on felony riot charges after they lit fireworks inside the Minnesota State Capitol and fled, police said. About 400 people attended the St. Paul event, and about 50 showed up to protest it.
In Nashville, Tenn., two people were arrested as protesters clashed with Trump supporters at the Tennessee Capitol. In Olympia, Wash., the state patrol said four demonstrators were arrested at a rally in support of Trump, KOMO-TV reported. Authorities did not say if the people arrested were pro-Trump or anti-Trump, but the station reported that the demonstrators are accused of assaulting a police officer.
Near Mar-a-Lago, Fla., the Palm Beach Post reported that people on both sides exchanged profanity. Trump’s motorcade briefly stopped so he could wave at supporters.
In Columbus, a small and peaceful pro-Trump rally at the Ohio Statehouse broke into a rowdy clash of words as opponents of the president arrived on the scene.
Supporters of Trump, many clad in red, white and blue, sported signs such as “Christians for Trump” and “This is My Women’s March.”
When a band of anti-Trump protesters arrived around noon Saturday, Trump backers began loudly chanting “U-S-A, U-S-A.” Some yelled, “Losers!”
The anti-Trump group shouted, “No Trump, No KKK, No Fascist USA” and “Not my president,” while waving such signs as, “Not Fit to Serve - No Mandate.”
The extraordinary clash of several hundred people in one of America’s most closely divided battleground states featured chanting and name-calling as well as opposing activists leaning in to try to hear each other out on the unconventional president.
The event remained mostly nonviolent as it stretched over several hours, with the exception of some reports of some punching, shoving and kicking.
As speeches were underway on the west side of the Statehouse, anti-Trump supporters rushed the area, some with their own megaphones and most with signs, and that set off a war of words.
But Trump supporter Margaret Howe, 57, of Pataskala, said she was alarmed by the threatening look of some of the anti-Trump protesters. She said she increasingly fears civil war.
“We did not want to have something like this happen,” she said, adding, “We came out today because Trump deserves to see he still has people for him, because of these people. It’s just all sad.”
Anti-Trump protester Rachel McCandlish, 40, of Fairfield County, said she was surprised to hear that Trump supporters didn’t expect to see opponents of Trump at their event.
“This is the United States. We’re allowed to disagree when we see our values slipping away,” she said. “I’m here standing for goodness and kindness and what I think are good American values.”
In Pennsylvania, hundreds gathered in rallies on both ends of the state to show support for Trump.
Supporters waved signs and flags and listened to speeches during Saturday’s “Spirit of America” rally in Bensalem’s Neshaminy State Park in eastern Pennsylvania’s Bucks County.
“They love their country and they love what Donald Trump represents, which is about making America first,” organizer Jim Worthington said.
In northwestern Pennsylvania, the Erie Times-News reported that about 100 people gathered in downtown Erie for a similar demonstration.