Denver community rallies against Eric Trump
Denver, CO – On Saturday, June 21, nearly 100 Denver area community members took to the streets in 100-degree weather to protest Eric Trump. The president’s son was in Colorado to hold a conservative fundraising event at the Denver Marriott West hotel.
The march was organized by a coalition of groups including Denver Anti-War Action (DAWA), Aurora Unidos CSO (AUCSO), the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), and the Colorado Palestine Coalition.
The event started at the nearby Tanglewood Park, where community members gathered for speeches. Emily Schlichter, an organizer with DAWA, led the event. “It's not just Eric Trump that's the reason we're here”, Schlichter said, “it's all of the corporations, the military industrial complex, it's all those things which are funding Eric Trump and his father.”
The focus of the march was the broader agenda and goals of the Trump family and their affiliates, and the intended use of the funds being raised at the Marriot. Brandon Gherke, speaking on behalf of FRSO, said “Eric Trump and his family are not just figureheads for a political agenda, they represent a class interest of capital: billionaires and corporations who profit off war, oppression, and our exploitation!”
The crowd marched to the Marriott West hotel, blocking streets and intersections before joining with several scattered crowds of protesters already stationed near the hotel. Protesters were initially prevented from approaching further by the Jefferson County Police Department. After being confined to the sidewalk for over an hour while chanting, among other things, “Trump says go back, we say fight back” and “Racist, sexist, anti-gay, Eric Trump go away!” the crowd approached the entrance. Hotel security and the police physically blocked them and threatened the protesters with trespassing charges and arrest.
“It was a peaceful assembly, we weren't obstructing anyone's pathway into the building,” said Alfredo Carbajal, a member of AUCSO. “There was no reason for the police to become so aggressive.”
After leaving the hotel grounds and being briefly followed by police cars while chanting “JeffCo sheriff, KKK, IOF, you're all the same,” the march arrived back at Tanglewood Park. “We’re at a turning point,” said Emily Schlichter at the close of the event, “we have to talk to each other about how this is all connected. Capitalism, imperialism, racism, militarism, all these '-isms' are part of the same monstrous system!”