By Douglas V. Gibbs

Amidst chants and shouts of “We will shut you down!”, the anti-Trump protesters in Cleveland have moved beyond the containment area, forcing their way towards the convention center where the Republican National Convention is being held.  Trump will be announced as the Republican Candidate on Thursday, during the convention.  The convention kicked off today at 1:00 pm Eastern.

The protesters are largely represented by BlackLivesMatter and other black power groups, as well as the Black Panthers, Latino groups, Code Pink, and various socialist groups.  Signs linking protesters to communism and Islamism are also present.  Their claim is that the Republican Party is steeped with racism, and that Trump’s racism rivals that of Adolf Hitler.

Trump was never considered a racist until he decided to become a political candidate and run against Democrats.

The police are keeping a close eye on the protesters, riding alongside them to do what they can to maintain order.

Many of the protesters have covered their faces with bandannas and other cloths.  Sign of cowardliness?
Who are they trying to hide their faces from?  The covering of one’s face in this manner brings to mind images of jihadism and criminal activity.

Security inside the venue is also tight, and every effort to protect the convention-goers are being used.

The potential for violence has been predicted by various outlets on both sides, with the goal of some of the protesters to shut down the whole convention in a manner similar to their shutdown of a Donald Trump rally and speech in Chicago earlier this year.

An open-carry law exists in Ohio, and Trump supporters outside the barrier areas are openly patrolling the grounds with their side-arms on them.  The open-carry law has been considered controversial as the convention approached, with some suggestions given to ban all firearms in the city during he event.

Originally, for the protesters, there was a pre-approved parade route.  The protesters are avoiding the controlled parade route, chanting that the streets belong to them.  Early on, the number is roughly under a thousand protesters.

The protests and kick-off of the Republican National Convention coincided with a speech by Hillary Clinton in Cincinnati to an NAACP Convention, where she hammered on “police brutality” saying that the killings of blacks “has to stop.”

Coincidentally, many of the tough laws the BlackLivesMatter movement is protesting against were put into place by Hillary Clinton’s husband, former President Bill Clinton.  To some, he was known as the law and order President.  Trump now calls himself the Law and Order Candidate.

In the next few days it is expected that the crowd of protesters will increase in size, and will likely become more vocal and will further test the boundaries as we approach Thursday’s nomination of Donald Trump as the Republican Party candidate in the 2016 Presidential Election.

The chant “We will shut you down!” is becoming more and more eerie as each moment passes.

Live video of the protester’s march can be viewed at http://video.foxnews.com/v/2553565088001/coalition-to-stop-trump-marches-through-streets-of-cleveland/?#sp=watch-live

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http://politicalpistachio.blogspot.com/2016/07/protesters-in-cleveland-at-rnc-break.html