Leading Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has kicked up a hornet’s nest of angry leftists with his planned rally this Friday at the University of Illinois-Chicago’s UIC Pavillion.

After efforts failed to get the rally cancelled, thousands are planning to protest Trump including students, aldermen and at least one congressman, Rep. Luis Gutierrez.

UIC Trump protest logo.

The UIC Pavillion can hold about 10,000 people. Anti-Trump organizers are encouraging protesters to get tickets to the rally in such numbers so as to take it over.

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Over 8,400 have RSVP’d at a Facebook page promoting the protest.

On Friday, March 11th, Donald Trump will be holding a campaign rally at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago. This event is dedicated to gathering a large group of people regardless of race, gender, religion, sexuality, political affiliation, etc. to unite in solidarity AGAINST the Donald Trump campaign and its presence at Chicago and at UIC. Door’s for the event open some time between 3PM and 4PM. We will start gathering at 3PM, with this time being subject to change. THIS WILL BE A PEACEFUL PROTEST. Get your tickets for the event here! We will be meeting up to protest outside as well, but let’s take as many as we can: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/donald-j-trump-in-chicago-il-tickets-22576886074“

The Facebook page, called StopTrumpChicago, also has a protest manifesto.

Reasons for protesting:

-Trump has called for the complete and total shutdown of all Muslims entering the United States. He has claimed that Islam and Muslims are hateful and terrorists and must be barred entrance until he decides otherwise.

-Trump has generalized the entire Mexican immigrant community as criminals and rapists. He calls for the mass deportation of 11 million adults and children alike regardless of how long they have lived in the United States. He also calls for the building of a giant wall to separate us from our long-time allies in Mexico.

-Trump has advocated FOR war crimes such as but not limited to torture-interrogation, mass murder as a warning, the intentional murder of entire civilian families, and the indiscriminatory bombing of countries in the Middle East.

-Trump has consistently refused to disavow and condemn the white supremacist hate groups such as the KKK that support and work for his campaign.

-Trump has preyed on the fears of poor and middle class whites while at the same time not offering any policies that would support them in overcoming the very serious and real challenges that they also face in America.

-Trump’s nativist, nationalist, and fascist stances parallel the most evil leaders this world has seen such as Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.

-Trump shows a childlike temperament that would jeopardize our national security and potentially start unnecessary conflicts. There are surely many other reasons that one may choose to condemn Trump’s campaign. All are valid and acknowledged. The list grows with every passing day… Trump has been known to provoke and encourage violence towards protesters in the past. Past protests have seen individuals be spit on, kicked, hit, shoved, and assaulted in various other ways. With that being said, our strength will lie both in our numbers and our ability to show these Trump supporters a higher class of behavior. We do not condone and will condemn any physical contact with supporters attending the rally; please keep your hands and items to yourself. Our goal must be to show the attendees the empathy, acceptance, and love that we strive to see in the world. Keep any signs and chants aimed at Trump and his campaign, instead of individual supporters.”

A petition at the leftist site MoveOn.org calling for the Trump rally to be cancelled has drawn over 45,000 signers.

Donald Trump is running on a platform of hate and dangerous intolerance. It has no place in Chicago but especially not at an institution of higher learning. In many instances Trump rallies have led to students, youth, and people of color being violently attacked by attendees. UIC should not be host to hate. Please cancel the event.”

UIC Chancellor Michael D. Amiridis issued a statement rejecting calls to cancel Trump’s rally.

Many of you have communicated with me or with other members of the administration regarding the scheduling of an event in the Pavilion on Friday, March 11 by the Trump campaign. Consistent with its role as a public university, the University of Illinois at Chicago is not endorsing, sponsoring or supporting any candidate for political office. At the same time, it has been our standard practice for decades to rent available space on campus to any political candidate when requested. As a result, we have a long history of campaign events on campus, and no legal basis to exclude any candidate because of the views he or she expresses. UIC’s core values of freedom, equality and social justice for all, regardless of race, religion, national origin, disability status or sexual orientation, are deeply rooted in our diverse community and not endangered by the presence of any political candidate on campus. We encourage public and civic engagement by all members of our University and we endorse the idea that the answer to speech that one does not like or finds offensive is more speech and not censorship. We welcome the diverse sentiments expressed by our students, faculty, staff, alumni and the neighboring communities regarding the upcoming political event. And we want to ensure everyone that security plans are in place to address the safety of our campus community during this event.”

Nearly 200 faculty and staff sent Chancellor Amiridis a letter reported WMAQ-TV complaining about the Trump rally.

We are deeply distressed that this event threatens to create a hostile and physically dangerous environment to the students, staff, faculty and alumni who come out to express their opposition.We base this claim on what happened recently at another public higher education institution, Valdosta State in Georgia, where university security ejected a group of peaceful protestors, all of whom were students enrolled at the university, who were seeking to attend the rally being held in a campus venue. We are also concerned for the safety of the diverse staff and team of student employees who work at the UIC Pavilion, as well as of those in our community who have no choice but to traverse parts of the campus around the Pavilion going to and from work and class from the time the event doors open around three through and immediately after the full closure of the building.”

Complete text of the letter and list of signers here.