Politics

An afternoon in the ‘free-speech zone’

Outside Trump’s Long Island rally, tensions abounded

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Editor’s note: Herald Senior Editor Scott Brinton spent the afternoon of April 6 photographing the “free-speech zone" set up outside Donald Trump’s rally in Bethpage. Here’s his report.

Donald Trump’s supporters steadily streamed into Grumman Studios on the afternoon of April 6 until more than 10,000 of them filled the venue, where war planes were once built. As they did, they walked past roughly 200 protesters who had gathered in what Nassau County police were calling a “free-speech zone,” a comparatively small, rectangular area cordoned off with aluminum barricades.

Trump made his first Long Island appearance on Wednesday in Bethpage. Security was tight. Dozens of police were stationed at checkpoints surrounding Grumman Studios, where films are now made. As has been the case across the country, controversy followed.

There was no violence outside the rally, while two were arrested for fighting inside. Clearly, though, there was tension as the pro-Trump crowd passed his detractors on the street. Most protesters stood silently, holding signs that read, “Stand Against Racism” or “Stand Against Islamophobia.” A few brandished placards that called Trump a fascist or compared him to Adolf Hitler. Occasionally, the protesters erupted in a chorus of “The people, united, will never be defeated.”

For the most part, Trump’s supporters hurried into the rally, saying nothing. A number of families with children were among them. Here and there, a Trump supporter, like Rob Anderson, of Selden, suddenly started chanting, “Build the wall, build the wall,” referring to Trump’s plan to construct a wall between Mexico and the United States, paid for by Mexico. “Get a job!” others yelled to the protesters.

Later in the evening, tensions mounted when a group of Trump supporters, who were unable to enter the rally, gathered across from the protesters, and the two sides began screaming at each other. A line of police separated them.

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