Five people are arrested as counter protesters storm a Republican ‘patriot prayer rally’, burn American flags and clash with heavily-armed cops
A rally held by the University of Washington’s College Republicans led to a major clash with counter-protesters inciting police to use pepper spray and arrest five
The Saturday rally invited right-group Patriot Prayer founder Joey Gibson to speak
Around 75 minutes after the free speech rally began, hundreds of protesters flooded in
Last January a man was shot outside an event held by the College Republicans on the same campus, where right-wing firebrand Milo Yiannopoulos spoke
By MARLENE LENTHANG
DAILYMAIL.COM
11 February 2018
Five people were arrested when counter-protesters took over a Republican rally at the University of Washington where dissenters burned the American flag as they booed the Trump administration.
The clash broke out after campus group the College Republicans invited right-learning group the Patriot Prayer to speak on Saturday.
In retaliation hundreds of students and demonstrators, gathered to oppose the Trump supporting rally.
The free speech rally took place in the campus’s Red Square by students supportive of Trump chanting ‘USA! USA! USA!’ and several wearing Make American Great Again hats.
College Republicans President Chevy Swanson said the goal of the rally was to create a safe space for conservatives to share their views and promote free speech.
About 75 minutes after the rally, counter-protesters began to flood in, despite police barricades.
Although the College Republicans had worked with police to prepare for the day, security was unprepared to deal with the hundreds that marched through the square.
The dissenters marched in with signs saying ‘Trump and Pence must go’ and ‘Trump is the symptom, Capitalism is the disease, Revolution is the cure’ and ‘Resist’.
‘We’re here to fight back against the far right and fascism on our campus,’ one speaker of the counter-protest said.
Scuttles broke out between the two groups, causing campus police to use pepper spray and arrest five counter-protesters.
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