Protesters turned criminal

I watched a news report this morning of a large group of Hispanic people protesting outside of a Donald Trump rally.  They were throwing eggs that pelted Trump supporters as they emerged from the rally.  Others were seen punching Trump supporters in the face.  There was blood, destruction, and violent hate-speech in the streets at San Jose, California.  Additionally, the large number of people who were likely from Mexico, some presumably arriving in the United States illegally, carried the Mexican flag while they were burning the American flag.  They were making a statement that indicated they were not pleased with the American political system, and in particular the candidate representing the republican party.

Even though the people causing such injuries, damage, and disrespect were called "protesters," the real fact is they are more than protesters, they are violent criminals.  We can talk about "free speech" as outlined in the United States Constitution, but first of all, free speech does not encourage violence.  Secondly, if violence and destruction erupts in such a protest, it changes from being free speech to felony endangerment and assault, and sometimes assault with a deadly weapon.  When people engage in actions that endanger others to the point of causing injury, they have crossed over the line from being a protest to being a riot that accelerates to lawbreaking.  The lawbreakers should be arrested and charged with the crime they committed.

Beyond the violence and lawbreaking, however, the "protesters" are not using very good critical thinking or judgment.  The very thing those people were "protesting" against Donald Trump and his supporters, reflected in their actions and criminal behavior the truth Donald Trump passionately speaks about.  Their actions prove him to be right in his pronouncements about them.  It is not a case where the words of Donald Trump enrage them; it is the case where Donald Trump's words reflect their long-practiced actions in many other venues.  That is what Donald Trump's supporters can see with their own eyes and experiences that literally drives them to support him more.

In the final analysis, Donald Trump becomes much stronger in the face of the "protesters" who cross the line to become violent criminals.

Jim Killebrew