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Bryan Hambley, a UH physician and founder of an anti-Donald Trump group, seen here, was among the protesters removed during the March 12 Donald Trump rally at the I-X Center in Cleveland. Hambley is helping organize an anti-Trump rally during the upcoming Republican National Convention.

(John Kuntz, cleveland.com)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A group of local physicians and other young professionals is organizing a march through downtown Cleveland during the upcoming Republican National Convention to protest presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump for reasons including his rhetoric involving Muslims.

The group, called Stand Together Against Trump, on May 18 filed for an application to hold a large-scale protest in downtown Cleveland during the final day of the GOP convention, according to records city officials released on Friday. The group's treasurer and founder is Bryan Hambley, the chief resident of internal medicine at University Hospitals Case Medical Center.

On May 16, Hambley and a Columbus attorney filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission registering the group as an independent expenditure committee, which allows it to raise money to oppose Trump as long as it does not coordinate with a campaign or political party. In an interview, Hambley said the group formed in response to the rise of Trump, who has controversially called for a temporary ban of all Muslim immigration as a means to prevent terrorist attacks from radical Islamic groups.

"There are a lot of Muslim physicians in the city of Cleveland," Hambley said. "Some of them are in our group, but all of us work with them. And the rhetoric of shutting down immigration and banning Muslims has been shocking to us."

The group is not opposed to conservative policies or conservative politicians, he said.

"This is a protest of Mr. Trump's rhetoric against women and minorities," he said.

Hambley added: "None of us are the type of people who would typically protest a political convention."

Khalid Dousa, an immigrant, Muslim physician and a member of the group, told cleveland.com that Trump's rhetoric has been inconsistent with what he's seen since arriving in the United States a year ago.

"The American people that I work with are very nice and very positive and accept diversity, and accept all the other nationalities with different accents, different backgrounds" he said. "...I don't see the things that [Trump] is calling for within the American people. That's why we're planning a peaceful protest."

The group plans to launch makes its website, www.standtogetheragainsttrump.com, public on Friday evening.

Hambley was among the protesters at a March 12 Trump campaign rally at the I-X Center in Cleveland. He and another physician were escorted out of the rally after they removed sweatshirts to reveal white T-shirts that read, "Muslim doctors save lives in Cleveland."

Other members of the group wore similar shirts and held signs, demonstrating outside the rally.

A Trump campaign spokeswoman did not immediately return an email seeking comment for this story.

The Stand Together Against Trump group's permit application describes two options for parade routes -- one that would begin in Ohio City and cross the Detroit/Superior bridge before ending at the downtown Erieview Plaza, and another that would begin near East 31st St. and Superior Ave., before proceeding down Superior to Public Square. The group's application says it is expecting as many as 10,000 people and 10 vehicles.

Hambley told cleveland.com he has not yet heard back from city officials about the status of his permit, but city officials previously have said they do not plan to act on protest permits until the U.S. Secret Services establishes a security perimeter around Quicken Loans Arena, the main convention venue. This may not happen until two or three weeks before the four-day convention begins on July 18.

The ACLU of Ohio on Thursday -- acting on behalf of a pro-Trump group and a progressive Ohio group -- threatened to sue city officials if they didn't act on protest permit applications by June 1.

City officials have not commented on the ACLU's threat. Dan Williams, a spokesman for Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, on Friday said he had no new information on the city's process for approving permit protests.

The Republican National Convention is scheduled for July 18-21. It's expected to attract up to 50,000 people, including 15,000 credentialed members of the media.