JANESVILLE, Wis. – Thousands of people were in Janesville Tuesday for a campaign rally for GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump and protests outside the rally.
Trump held a rally at the Holiday Inn Express and Convention Center that was supposed to start at 4 p.m. Trump hit the stage after 5 p.m., but protesters gathered outside the venue before and during the campaign rally.
Trump spent much of his speech criticizing Gov. Scott Walker.
“I remember when he was on the campaign trail I was so nice to him,” Trump said of Walker. “I said, ‘I’m not going to hit him, I’m not going hit him.’ And I hit Rand (Paul), and I hit a lot of people, and they all went down. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a president whose mouth can make things happen that are positive?”
Another name, that of U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, a native of Janesville, drew a surprise reaction from the crowd. When Trump asked supporters in the building what they thought of him, loud booing took over the room.
“You wouldn’t be surprised how many people in Wisconsin have had it with Ryan, and with Walker as well,” Trump supporters Nancy and Glen Thomas said. “But Ryan, he sold us out.”
The Thomas’ left the event saying they have faith in what Trump could do in the White House.
“Donald Trump has a kind heart, and I do believe he wants to do the things that he [says],” Nancy Thomas said.
Protesters gathered in Janseville Monday night ahead of the event, and six were arrested, police said.
“We are not going to stand for hate, that’s just it,” said Aaisha Zain, an anti-Trump protester.
“We want better for our state and for our nation as a whole,” Emily Kresl said. “I don’t see that being possible with Trump.”
According to a release, over 350 officers from 20 different agencies helped with traffic control, perimeter control, crowd control and tactical support.
Police said 1,000 people attended Trump’s rally inside the hotel and about 1,000 people were outside the venue supporting and protesting Trump.
A 15-year-old Janesville girl was pepper-sprayed in the crowd by another attendee during an argument, according to the release. A 19-year-old Madison woman was also hit with pepper spray.
Officials said as of Tuesday night, no one had been arrested at the event.
Police said a man in the crowd groped the 15-year-old girl and when she pushed him away, another person in the crowd sprayed her with pepper spray. According to the release, police are looking for the two people involved in the incident.
