× Expand Dylan Brogan Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to a packed house of about 1,000 supporters and journalists on Tuesday at the Holiday Inn Express in Janesville. About 5,000 people requested tickets.

At best, the man outside the Donald Trump rally in Janesville was a Dale Earnhardt Jr. fan. At worst, he was a white supremacist. Maybe he was both.

Standing in a line with other Trump supporters and staring down a parallel line of protesters, he wore a hat and a black hoodie with “88” printed on the sleeve — code for “Heil Hitler,” because H is the eighth letter in the alphabet. It’s also Earnhardt Jr.’s racecar number.

“I hope you get raped by a Muslim,” he said as a reporter approached. When she introduced herself and asked for an interview, he told her to “fuck off.”

Another man standing nearby chimed in, telling the reporter “she could be one of the 72 virgins” promised as a reward to Muslim martyrs.

His tone was mocking: “Oh that’s right, she probably lost [her virginity] at [age] 9.”

This was one of several shocking exchanges at Trump’s first campaign stop in Wisconsin on Tuesday. The rally drew thousands of supporters and protesters to the Janesville Holiday Inn Express, where security was tight and the mood was tense.

“[President Barack Obama] is trying to start a civil war — hence the anger here,” said JoAnna Beard, a Trump supporter from Janesville who was at the rally. “We don’t want the change that Obama promised. We want [America] to come back to what it was supposed to be.”

× Expand Dylan Brogan This Donald Trump supporter had some advice for world leaders.

Along the I-90-39 exit, dozens of dump trucks were set up as a protective barricade against car bombs. Snipers kept watch from the hotel’s rooftop, and officers with bomb-sniffing dogs patrolled the grounds. Protesters chanted “Love not Hate” and “Dump Trump” while marching in the street in front of the hotel. Trump supporters looked on, with some shouting responses.

“This is ridiculous,” Trump supporter Jarrod Wiedmer said of the protesters. “I think they’re confused. I think the media has made them confused.”

Wiedmer, a Janesville resident, believes the candidate’s message will resonate with people in the area, which has been “hard hit by illegal immigration” and the 2009 closure of the General Motors Assembly Plant in Janesville.

“A lot of the policies that Trump supports are gonna help,” he said. “There’s gonna be more jobs, there’s gonna be better-paying jobs. I mean, hopefully. You can’t believe what a politician says, even if he isn’t truly a politician.”

× Expand Dylan Brogan Scores of protesters brought homemade signs bearing anti-Donald Trump slogans to the GOP frontrunner's rally in Janesville.

Reporters lining up to pass through security said the Janesville rally was tame compared to other Trump campaign stops, like the March 11 speech in Chicago that was abruptly canceled after aggressive clashes between supporters and protesters. One said it must be the fabled “Wisconsin nice.”

But the stereotype was shattered when a 15-year-old girl was attacked with pepper spray. According to an initial report from the Janesville Police Department, a man in the crowd groped the girl, prompting her to push him away. Video of the incident shows another man spraying the girl, who is helped away by police as Trump supporters laugh and cheer.

On Thursday afternoon, Janesville police held a press conference and announced that investigators, after reviewing video of the incident and interviewing witnesses, determined that no sexual assault occurred. The girl is facing disorderly conduct charges. Police are still looking for the pepper spray attacker.

× Expand Dylan Brogan Outside the Donald Trump rally, dozens of vendors set up shop, peddling pro-Donald Trump shirts, hats and buttons.

Doug Rogers, a Janesville resident and the pastor of a church in Rockford, Ill., went to the Trump rally as an observer. He was dressed in his clergy robes but said he hoped that he would not be needed “in a professional capacity.”

“I’ve watched this kind of thing on television, and I was curious to be able to experience it firsthand,” he said. “It’s living up to my expectations.”

It was standing room only inside the Holiday Inn banquet hall as 1,000 Trump supporters eagerly awaited the candidate’s arrival. The Republican frontrunner kept the crowd waiting for nearly an hour in order to make a live appearance on Fox News’ Sean Hannity program. Occasional chants of “Trump, Trump, Trump” broke up the monotony.

Then, to the classic jock jam tune “Get Ready for This,” the billionaire populist took center stage and the political rally/tent revival show was underway.

“There is something going on here,” Trump told the fervent crowd. “It’s like a movement. It’s not me. I’m a messenger to be honest.”

Shedding the usual conventions of a presidential campaign stump speech, Trump jumped from one issue to the next making bold proclamations throughout.

“We’re going to turn this country around, and we’re going to be the smart people,” Trump said. “We’re not going to be the dummies anymore.”

Trump promised he would “knock the hell out of ISIS” and said he’d repeal Obamacare and replace it with “something so much better.” He declared the Second Amendment to be “under siege” and vowed to preserve Social Security and Medicare.

To the delight of the crowd, he also reaffirmed his constitutionally questionable pledge to ban all Muslims from entering the country on a temporary basis. “I took so much heat for that,” Trump says. “Now people are saying, ‘Trump is sort of right about that’...because they see what’s happening.”

Just hours before Trump’s first campaign stop in Wisconsin, former presidential hopeful Gov. Scott Walker endorsed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. It took Trump only minutes to call out Walker’s support of free trade deals like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

“Wisconsin has lost 15,000 jobs to Mexico since NAFTA,” Trump said, going on to criticize Walker on a host of issues including the state’s fiscal health and unemployment rate. “He’s not doing a great job...[and] he certainly can’t endorse me after what I did to him during the debate.”

× Expand Dylan Brogan An adoring crowd greets Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump at the Holiday Inn Express in Janesville.

Truck driver Shawn Rickelman from Rockford is a Trump fan because “he gives a shit about Americans.”

“He wants the American worker back to work,” Rickelman said. “I want someone who gives a damn about us.”

Effortlessly playing to the crowd like a seasoned road comic, Trump asked the Janesville audience about native son Paul Ryan, the GOP House Speaker. After a chorus of boos, even Trump seemed dumbfounded by the response on the Speaker’s home turf.

“I was told to be nice to Paul Ryan,” Trump said. “I’m very surprised...wow.” A man in the crowd yelled back: “He’s establishment.”

The latest Marquette University Law School poll, released Wednesday, shows Trump trailing Cruz by 10 points among likely Wisconsin primary voters. Cruz now garners 40% support, Trump nets 30%, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich 21%.

Trump announced at the rally he is taking his campaign road show across the state until the April 5 Wisconsin primary.

“If we win Wisconsin, it’s going to be over,” said Trump about the GOP nomination. Before exiting the packed banquet hall, Trump accused all of his opponents of being beholden to big-money backers and offered a simple promise to loyal supporters.

“I’m controlled by you,” said Trump to applause. “I’m going to do the right thing for you.”

[Editor's note: This post has been updated to include the latest comments from the Janesville Police Department.]