Free Press Staff

The arrival of GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump to Burlington attracted its earliest spectator at 4:30 a.m. Thursday — and continued through the evening. Trump was scheduled to speak at the Flynn Center at 7 p.m., and took the stage at 7:30 p.m.

10:20 p.m.

Donald Trump says the crowd for his speech Thursday night in Burlington was 25,000.

Untrue, according to the city police chief.

About 2,000 people lined up starting at 4:30 a.m. for access to the Flynn Center, Chief Brandon del Pozo told the Burlington Free Press. The Trump campaign instituted a loyalty test at the door and allowed into the 1,400-seat Flynn Center only people who professed support for the candidate.

Another 700 people, mostly protesters, gathered in City Hall Park to demonstrate.

That didn't dissuade Trump from making claims on Twitter.

"We could only get a small fraction of this 25k crowd in," Trump tweeted after his speech. "The movement to Make America Great Again is unbelievable."

9:30 p.m.

Burlington's mayor is criticizing the conduct of the Donald Trump campaign in planning and carrying out Thursday night's speech.

Miro Weinberger monitored the Trump event from his office overlooking Main Street in a darkened City Hall Thursday night. Weinberger was joined by his chief of staff, Brian Lowe, and spokeswoman Jennifer Kaulius.

Weinberger had some pointed remarks for how the Trump campaign handled the event, saying Burlington Police Chief Brandon del Pozo took over planning crowd control early Wednesday morning when no answers were forthcoming from the Trump organization.

“After repeated attempts to get clarity on how they were managing the situation I supported police taking charge and putting information out directly,” Weinberger said.

Weinberger also took the Trump campaign to task for turning people away at the door of the Flynn Theater if they were not Trump supporters, after exponentially overbooking the event, distributing more than 20,000 tickets for a venue that seats 1,400.

“Seeing Mr. Trump himself apparently tweeting that they’re going to take care of their own tonight, that doesn’t sound like the words of a president to me,” Weinberger said. “If he were elected president I’d hope he would understand that he’s got a responsibility to all Americans, whether they agree with him or not.”

Weinberger said he found it “pretty distasteful” for the Trump campaign to overbook the event, to encourage as large a crowd as possible, and then not communicate “in any way” how people would be treated at the door.

“I don’t think this is the way a serious campaign that cares about the community it’s coming into would conduct itself,” Weinberger said.

Weinberger added that he believed the lack of organization and communication by the Trump campaign resulted in higher costs for the city and more disruption to local businesses. He said the campaign would be billed for the full cost to the city for handling the event, and that it would run into the thousands of dollars.

“I’ll be here until the crowd has left and the situation is under control,” Weinberger said. “Then I’ll go home and get some sleep.”

Trump: Protesters make night more exciting

9:10 p.m.

Donald Trump supporters emerging from the Flynn Center were greeted by a large, largely anti-Trump rally in City Hall Park across the street.

"Elect Bernie, tax Trump," people chanted.

Those who attended the rally proudly showed off their Trump signs in response.

8:40 p.m.

With his signature line, "We are going to make America great again," Donald Trump ended his speech in Burlington after 70 minutes before a largely enthusiastic crowd.

The speech was interrupted multiple times by protesters, who were promptly evicted from the 1,400-seat venue — to which the Trump campaign issued more than 20,000 tickets.

The campaign attempted to engineer the crowd to be as pro-Trump as possible. Staff asked people at the door whether they supported Trump, and if they said no or were undecided, they were not allowed to watch the billionaire New York businessman's talk.

7:55 p.m.

Protesters interrupted Donald Trump's speech at the Flynn Center on multiple occasions starting about 30 minutes into his speech.

One duo briefly walked down an aisle chanting "Dump Trump!" They were swiftly removed from the venue. Trump replied that he "loves" protesters because that's the only time the media shows the size of Trump's crowds.

Later, more protesters began chanting in the balcony in support of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who got his political start as Burlington's mayor. This time, Trump appeared irritated.

"Get 'em out. Get 'em out," Trump ordered his security staff from the podium.

Later, he said "I respect what they're doing — unless they have a substance-abuse problem, which they probably do."

Several minutes after that, when another demonstrator interrupted, he told staff to throw the man out but confiscate his coat, which the campaign would return in a few weeks.

"It's about 10 degrees below zero outside," Trump said.

The temperature was 25.

Across the street in City Hall Park, a crowd of mostly anti-Trump demonstrators had gathered. Every time a person ejected from the Trump rally emerged into the cold, the crowd of protesters erupted in cheers.

7:30 p.m.

Donald Trump has taken the stage at the Flynn and started his speech.

The event began half an hour late while security and campaign staff screened people who wanted to attend, and kicked out anyone who refused to say they were a Trump supporter.

The venue holds 1,400 people, but the Trump campaign issued more than 20,000 tickets to the event.

"We're in Vermont! The air is so nice and clean!" he said as he began his speech before a sign-waving crowd that chanted "Thank you Donald!" in response.

"There's like 20,000 people — we can't get them in," Trump said. "So you are very, very lucky."

Although the campaign issued tickets for more than 14 times the number of available seats, 20,000 were not waiting in line. But the queue that began at 4:30 a.m. outside the Flynn on Main Street stretched for blocks and blocks throughout the day, and not everyone in line was admitted.

Meanwhile, Flynn Center Executive Director John Killacky said the Trump campaign violated its agreement with the venue by handing out signs, which the campaign had promised not to do. A Trump staffer in turn accused the Flynn of being pro-Bernie Sanders, the Democratic presidential candidate and former mayor of Burlington.

6:35 p.m.

The Donald Trump campaign is refusing to admit anyone who isn’t a Trump supporter to his speech Thursday night in Burlington.

Campaign staff are asking people at the door of the Flynn Center whether they back the New York billionaire businessman’s campaign for the Republican nomination. If people answer anything but yes, they are turned away. Police officers are escorting people out of the building.

"We have more than 20,000 people that showed up for 1,400 spots,” Trump said in a statement to the Burlington Free Press. “I'm taking care of my people, not people who don't want to vote for me or are undecided. They are loyal to me, and I am loyal to them."

The Trump campaign has the legal right to refuse admittance to anyone, Burlington Police Chief Brandon del Pozo said.

“They have the right to say who’s trespassing in violation of their lease agreement, so when people are asked to leave, police escort them out,” the chief told the Free Press. He said that campaigns remove people from events “all the time” who they do not wish to have attend.

Jess Kell of Burlington was among those denied access Thursday night to the Flynn. She waited on line with a ticket, but once she made it through the first set of doors, well-dressed campaign staff wearing Trump lapel pins began to question her, she said.

“They are asking people if they’re Trump supporters,” she said. “I said, ‘I’m here to learn and listen and observe,’ and they said, ‘This is a private event, and only supporters may come in.’ And then they had the police escort me out the door. There was no chance to ask questions.”

Kell’s son, 17-year-old Burlington High School student Phineas Totten, also had a ticket to the event and arrived sporting a Donald Trump campaign button. When the Trump staff asked about his loyalty, Kell recounted, “He said, ‘Look at my button.’”

Totten was allowed inside.

5:20 p.m.

The doors have opened at the Flynn Center for Donald Trump's speech.

Staff are letting in 100 people at a time.

Burlington Fire Department officials say that about 100 of the Flynn's 1,400 seats are reserved for media and members of the Trump campaign, so the seating capacity for the public is about 1,300.

Trump's campaign issued more than 20,000 free tickets to the event.

In City Hall Park across the street from the Flynn, hundreds of demonstrators — mostly anti-Trump — chanted slogans such as "Deport Trump!" and "Don't give in to racist fear, refugees are welcome here." Those at the front of the line awaiting access to the speech — largely pro-Trump — countered with calls of their own, such as "Build a wall!" and "USA! USA!"

Metal crowd-control barriers and police separated the two groups across a block of Main Street that looked like a small-scale version of the Demilitarized Zone.

3:50 p.m.

A line of people waiting to get into the Flynn Center for Trump's rally stretched down St. Paul Street and around the corner of Maple Street as the door-opening neared Thursday.

On Main Street, picketers gathered across the street from the Flynn Center, including husband and wife Harry and Kathleen Laughy, 30-year residents of Fairfax. The two held signs that said "It's time for Trump" and "Trump before it's too late." Harry Laughy said he and his wife do not have tickets to the event, but felt compelled to come to Burlington and show support for Trump on Thursday.

"America's a business and needs a businessman with experience," Harry Laughy said. "Donald Trump makes me proud to be an American."

He added, "The United States of America is a business that's been run terribly for years and years and decades and decades. It needs somebody who knows how to do this. He's not beholden to any special interests, and he'll be the first president we've ever had sitting in the Oval Office who doesn't owe anyone a favor by getting there."

The Burlington Police Department began to move barricades away from the side of the road closer to 4 p.m., blocking the street in front of the Flynn from Church Street to St. Paul Street.

3:15 p.m.

Donald Trump is crowing on Twitter about the overflow crowd expected for his Thursday night rally in downtown Burlington.

“I will be in beautiful Burlington, Vermont, tonight for a rally,” he tweeted at 9 a.m. “Will be great fun. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

His enthusiasm skipped over the concerns expressed by Burlington’s police chief and mayor about public safety and expense with the over-ticketing of the event by more than 14 times the capacity of the 1,400-seat Flynn Center for the Performing Arts.

“Massive crowd in VT tonight. Venue not big enough,” Trump tweeted at 11:05 a.m. “Officials say NO to outside event and sound system. Arrive early!”

The Trump campaign chose the Flynn for Thursday’s speech and used the online ticketing service Eventbrite to issue 20,000 free tickets as of Wednesday afternoon — a figure that was continuing to climb Thursday, just hours ahead of the speech.

People still could register for tickets online at 3:15 p.m.

"It's the job of the police to deal with things that are unforseen, so professionally, we're just going to handle it," Burlington Police Chief Brandon del Pozo said outside the Flynn, where barricades had been set up on either side of Main Street as the crowd swelled.

"The seating capacity's right there," he added. "There's no mystery. It didn't shrink."

2:30 p.m.

Should the Flynn Center have turned away an act as controversial as Donald Trump?

Absolutely not, says Burlington resident Albert Petrarca:

2 p.m.

Michael Hart, a resident of Au Sable Forks, New York, is near the front of the line. He tells us why he supports Trump, and how the GOP candidate resembles Vermont's own Sen. Bernie Sanders.

1 p.m.

Media vans mass in downtown Burlington.

11:15 a.m.

Doors open to the Trump rally at the Flynn Center at 5 p.m.; Trump is scheduled to speak at 7 p.m.About 30 people, mostly supporters of GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump, have lined up on Main Street in Burlington.

Police and other city workers have set up barricades.

"It's another great day in Burlington," said Police Chief Brandon del Pozo, who was helping set up a barrier outside the theatre. "It's just about people coming out and expressing themselves under the First Amendment. As long as everyone respects everyone, this should be a great day."

Michael Hart of Au Sable Forks, New York, shared those views as he stood at Main and St. Paul streets, near the front of the line for the rally.

"I'm not here to cause no trouble; I just want to listen to him speak," said Hart, who describes himself as a Republican, but more emphatically, "an American realist" who endorses Trump.

"I love his views," Hart continued. "I like him because he tells it the way it is; he says what he feels."

Opposing views were in evidence, too.

Next door to the Flynn Center, the Kountry Kart Deli advertised "The Donald" sandwich, featuring bologna and white bread.

Other eateries braced for hungry protesters, supporters.

10 places for Trump foes, fans to eat

8:30 a.m.

Although he is first in line for Thursday's rally for Donald Trump, Burlington resident Mark Conrad is not a fan.

"I disagree with almost everything he says," said Conrad, who arrived at the venue at 4:30 a.m. to beat what he was sure would be a long line at the Flynn Center.

The event has been over-ticketed by the Trump campaign by a factor of 10, Conrad continued, "and I take that as a challenge."

The Burlington Police Department, too, has recognized that challenge. Main Street at the location will be closed after 1 p.m., and parking restrictions are in effect all day.

More problematic, Chief Brandon del Pozo said Wednesday, is the question of how — and if — the campaign plans to address the needs of hundreds of people who are unlikely to gain entrance to the event.

Burlington artists react to Trump visit to Flynn Center

Earlier:Begging to differ

Several rallies and protests have been planned to welcome Trump to Burlington. Trump’s visit sparked discussion on the best way to respond on social media sites.

“It’s been a really interesting public discourse on what to do in this situation,” said James Haslam, the executive director of Rights and Democracy VT, which is planning one of the rallies. His group hopes the response to Trump can focus on positivity, not the hate they associate with Trump’s campaign.

Haslam’s plan includes a silent vigil followed by music and live bands, but he acknowledges that others may have different approaches. Other activists have planned to hold a candlelight vigil along the route Trump will likely take from the airport to the Flynn. Some on social media have contemplated sitting in the theater silently or walking out in the middle of Trump’s speech.

Haslam is one of the activists who believes Trump is coming to Burlington “to pick a fight in Bernie’s backyard.” Given the national media scrutiny, some of the discussion has centered on how Vermont’s response will reflect on Bernie Sanders.

“There’s no doubt that the national media is going to make a big deal out of Trump coming to Bernie’s home turf,” said Sen. David Zuckerman, P-Chittenden, at the Statehouse on Tuesday. “And they will then turn whatever happens into a reflection around this is where Bernie is from and these are the kinds of people that are supporting Bernie.”

Zuckerman said he believes the rallies and protests will be peaceful and positive.

Shortly after the event was announced, the Vermont Workers’ Center started a petition to get the Flynn to cancel the event. The petition kicked off a debate about free speech and whether the petition was an appropriate response. The petition was withdrawn earlier this week.

Matt McGrath, co-director of the Workers’ Center, said they withdrew the petition because it “was becoming a distraction from the real issues.”