Thousands of people are in the crowd, each one craning their necks to see if they can get a glimpse of the famous politician. Camera flashes are going off like firecrackers as the attendees try to get a momento of the rally. Finally, at long last Donald Trump, in the flesh, walks out to his podium and begins to speak.

On April 15, Trump held a rally in Hartford at the Connecticut Convention Center. Hartford police estimated there were nearly 7,000 people inside the center to watch the rally and about 1,000 more outside in line, according to NBC article “Donald Trump’s Campaign Rally in Hartford”. The doors to the convention center opened at 4 p.m. but people had been lining up outside of the center as early as 8:30 a.m. Friday morning. Many of the people who did show up were not able to enter the center due to lack of space.

Some of those who did make it into the venue were removed due to protesting. Several of them held signs that read, “Hate won’t make us great”, referencing the Trump slogan, “Make America great again.” Several of the protesters removed from the rally argued that their Constitutional right of freedom of speech was being violated. The Hartford police explained that the protesters were acting in a way that might have caused a riot which would be highly dangerous with the number of people in the building.

Trump’s opening line of “Who doesn’t love Hartford?” sparked cheers and clapping from the crowd. He talked about the issues Connecticut was facing, for example, the loss of General Electrics causing people to lose their jobs. Trump also spoke of some of his plans for Connecticut.

Savannah Houdeshell, staff writer

Freshman Savannah Houdeshell is a staff writer for the 2015-2016 Colonel. She participates in Operation Smile and is on the soccer team.