15 Protesters Donald Trump Wants To Punch In The Face

His animosity towards peaceful dissenters is truly revealing - I know, from firsthand experience.

Donald Trump has built a platform for himself on unabashed statements that spread fear and perpetuate hate, and his message continues to resonate with Americans.

Via theodysseyonline.com

He has won primaries in New Hampshire, South Carolina, and now Nevada.

He's bragged that his supporters would stand loyal even if Trump attempted murder in the middle of 5th Avenue. And his campaign has gone to great lengths to ensure only these top-level supporters fill rally halls, going so far as enforcing a 'loyalty oath' and ejecting those who don't comply.

But like his policies, these security measures have flaws and dissenters have Jedi-Mind-Tricked their way through those cracks so that as a hate-filled piece of rhetoric masked as a plan to 'make America great again' falls from Trump's lips, a voice of opposition is there to call for love instead.

November 22nd, 2015

Reuters / Via washingtonpost.com

Mercutio Southall Jr. was attacked after shouting Black Lives Matter during a rally in Birmingham, Alabama. The next day, Trump said the protester was “so obnoxious and so loud” that “maybe he should have been roughed up because it was absolutely disgusting what he was doing."

December 4th, 2015

Ray Whitehouse for The New York Times / Via nytimes.com

More than two dozen Black Lives Matter protesters disrupted a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina with a sign that read “Stop the Hate. We Make America Great.” Among the protesters was Romain Stanley who tweeted: "Forcibly removed from #trump rally. Trump supporters kicked me, grabbed my neck, pushed me, and more all while security jacks me up.”

December 11th, 2015

Ben Schreckinger / Via politico.com

Trump’s $1,000 plate luncheon was disrupted by a dozen protesters who chanted “Trump is trying to bring us down, targeting people black and brown.” All protesters were forcibly removed, including a Latino veteran with a disability who was pushed down a flight of stairs and an Arab woman who was thrown to the ground.

December 12th, 2015

Richard Shiro / AP / Via washingtonpost.com

Holding signs reading “Refugees Welcome,” protesters were threatened and shoved as they disrupted Trump’s Aiken, South Carolina stop.

December 14th, 2015

NBC News / Via nbcnews.com

Up to 20 protesters were violently battered and removed from a Las Vegas event while a supporter yelled a Nazi salute from the crowd.

January 7th, 2016

Charles Krupa / AP / Via nbcnews.com

A half dozen protesters disrupt Trump in Burlington, Vermont carrying ‘Dump Trump’ signs. Trump made calls from the stage to confiscate the protester’s coat, knowing it was 10 degrees outside at the time.

January 8th, 2016

Jeff Siner / Via thestate.com

Muslim woman Rose Hamid stood silently at Trump Rally in Rock Hill, North Carolina, wearing a hijab and a yellow star reading ‘Muslim’. Hamid was removed for disrupting, but argues that the real disruption came from those who heckled her in the crowd. Several other protesters disrupted the rally after Hamid was ejected.

January 20th, 2016

IAN MAULE/Tulsa World / Via tulsaworld.com

High school students in Tulsa, Oklahoma ditched school to interject their twist on Trump’s campaign slogan into his rally. Their sign - which was smuggled into the event in one of their shoes - was eventually taken and stomped on by supporters.

January 21st, 2016

youtube.com / Via huffingtonpost.com

This was the day I took action and disrupted a Las Vegas, Nevada rally - my banner reading “Stop the Hate” was ripped from my hands as I was shoved through the crowd, buried in supporter signs, and slugged by an older woman.

January 24th, 2016

AP Photo/Andrew Harnik / Via dailymail.co.uk

Two men - one wearing a red turban - unfurled a banner reading “Stop Hate” at a rally in Muscatine, Iowa while Trump spoke on ‘Islamic Terror’. Trump questioned the audience as to whether or not the man was “wearing one of those hats”.

January 26th, 2016

Via thehill.com

At least three separate actions took place in the Iowa City, Iowa rally: Melyssa Jo Kelly pulled out a ‘No Racism’ sign, Andrew Alemao wore a shirt reading ‘Heil Trumpler 2016’ and threw tomatoes at the stage, and a series of whistle blowers adorning t-shirts reading “I Stand with My Muslim Neighbors” annoyed Trump to the point of him asking “Am I allowed to rip that whistle out of their mouth?"

January 28th, 2016

Jake Bullington via Facebook / Via thinkprogress.org

Trump’s ‘Special Event for Veterans’ in Des Moines, Iowa held at the same time as the GOP Debate was twice interrupted by veterans shouting “We love Veterans, Trump loves War.”

February 16th, 2016

AP PHOTO/ANDREW HARNIK / Via thinkprogress.org

High school senior Thomas Hill was violently ejected from a North Augusta, South Carolina rally with sign reading “Keep America Great, Keep All Immigrants”.

February 19th, 2016

#VetsAsk / Via vimeo.com

On the eve of the South Carolina primary, a group of 10 military veterans unfurled a banner that read, “Mr. Trump: Veterans are not props for hate. We stand with our Muslim sisters and brothers.” The group was forcibly removed from the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina rally.

February 22nd, 2016

APTN / Via telegraph.co.uk

Protesters in Las Vegas, Nevada elicited Trump’s most vile response yet on the eve of the Nevada primary. As one man was hauled off by security, a second protester, veteran Elliott Adams, held a sign reading "Veterans to Trump: End hate speech against Muslims." Trump said to the protesters "I'd like to punch you in the face."

These disruptions have detracted from Trump's rants, further exposing his hot-tempered reaction to confrontation and the violent tendencies among Trump and his supporters. Any semblance of playfulness has worn thin enough to reveal the trajectory of his verbal bullying towards physical aggression and violence. Make no mistake: we're seeing a microcosm of what we as a country would experience from a Trump presidency.

Trump has gone to great lengths to silence and mock those who challenge him and oppose him, rejecting the principle that dissent is at the core of democracy. The repeated protests inside these rallies expose a deep threat to the democratic process - there is no room for differing opinion in Trump's worldview.