As soon as I heard the Chicago Donald Trump rally tickets were free, I knew I was going–there was no way I would help fund Trump, and I was very curious. I’ve attended Parker since I was four, and have lived in Chicago all my life. Attending what I perceive to be a politically left-leaning and progressive school in a very blue city has pushed me far away from Trump, making me more intrigued with the right-wing side of politics.

Immediately the March 11 rally was a bit of a culture shock. Being from a democratic city and progressive school, I hadn’t before seen someone with Trump campaign apparel. Once I arrived outside the University of Illinois at Chicago Pavilion (525 South Racine) in a cab, I could see people joining the line. It seemed like one out of every three people was wearing the now famous red “Make America Great Again” hat. I was a bit nervous.

This year Chicago has dealt with publicized issues regarding race and politicians, especially surrounding Rahm Emanuel and the Laquan McDonald case.  I knew there would be plenty of people just like me attending the rally. I wanted to protest, but first I wanted to hear Trump speak. Having seen the videos of people getting forcibly removed from Trump rallies across the country, I thought it was a good idea to blend in as much as a black person at a Trump rally can. I wore plain clothes—a green shirt and blue pants, nothing political–and decided to sit down and shut up for as long as I could.

The line to get into the UIC pavilion, near the Little Italy neighborhood of Chicago, was about a quarter-mile long, with a mix of Trump supporters and those opposed. I had anticipated being subject to racial slurs and hostility.  I didn’t hear any directed toward me, but I did hear slurs directed toward immigrants and muslims.  In the line, I made it clear to one Trump fan that I was totally opposed, which then prompted him to ignore me while I complimented him on his black t-shirt, which featured a picture of the U.S. Constitution wrapped in the American Flag with a bald-eagle outside of the pavilion.

Security was heavy, but appropriate for the event. There were hundreds of UIC student-protesters outside the pavillion hours before the event started. I wanted to join, but not yet.

Once I was inside the venue, the culture shock continued. I found it ironic that Elton John’s “Rocket Man”—a song composed by a gay musician—was played inside.  Trump does not support gay marriage.

The atmosphere reminded me of a Texas rodeo, or as my friend Charlie observed, a monster truck show. Beer was sold at the counters.  The music was loud and energetic.  “It’s lonely out in space/ On such a timeless flight/ And I think it’s gonna be a long, long time/ ‘Til touchdown brings me ‘round again…”

There was continuous violence inside between people with conflicting political views–the energy resembled that of a mosh-pit. I arrived at the rally at about 4:30pm. At about 6:45, the announcement was made that Trump, who had been scheduled to speak at 6:00, had decided to postpone his rally due to safety concerns, which caused the crowd to erupt.  I couldn’t have been happier.

I went to the protest right outside of the pavilion, which had turned into something closer to a riot. Hundreds of police officers were making arrests of unruly protesters.  Blue wooden police barricades had been broken in half. Protesters were marching in the street, by Racine and Van Buren.

There was an increasing amount of violence. One female Trump fan was surrounded by about ten UIC students, all yelling in her face and physically preventing her from walking away. Trump merchandise had been stolen and burned, or put in the garbage, and one member of the crowd spat in the face of another. I was running up and down the street with a group of protesters, ecstatic at the fact that we’d protected our city from Trump, at least for now.

The protesters flooded and eventually blocked off the expressway right by the venue, which ended in a standoff with dozens of police and state-troopers. The protest then shifted its focus toward discontent with the Chicago Police Department and the Laquan McDonald case.

The phrases “16 shots” and “CPD, KKK, how many kills you got today?”, were being chanted in the face of officers.

Then a uniformed and armed, white police officer spoke directly to me.  He said that Trump was going to be the next great president.