Vox.com
When a Black Lives Matter protester was punched and kicked at a
Donald Trump rally in Alabama last weekend, the GOP front-runner’s
response was typically unapologetic, said Dara Lind. “It was absolutely
disgusting what he was doing,” Trump told Fox News. “Maybe he
deserved to get roughed up.” Even for Trump, it was a shocking statement:
In a nation where free speech is the cornerstone of the Constitution,
no one should be assaulted for protesting at a political rally. But
Trump’s fans have a nasty habit of getting “physical with protesters,”
with his overt or tacit approval. Trump’s security goons dragged one
Latino protester out of a rally in Miami, and “sucker-punched” another
protester in New York City. This summer, a Boston man beat a homeless
Hispanic man nearly to death with a metal pole, and then told
cops he’d been inspired by the billionaire businessman’s anti-immigrant
rhetoric. Trump’s response? His supporters, he said, are “very passionate.”
In keeping with its authoritarian mindset, the Trump campaign
has now taken to penning in journalists at rallies, to keep them from
mixing with his supporters. Apparently, Trump doesn’t want reporters
to witness those who disagree with him getting beaten into silence.
