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O'REILLY: Donald Trump and violence. That is the subject of this evening's Talking Points Memo. One of the biggest political stories in years unfolded in Chicago Friday night as hundreds of left-wing protesters managed to shut down Donald Trump's rally at the University of Illinois, Chicago. But if you were monitoring the national media coverage of the fracas, you did not, did not get the entire story. Which is grossly unfair to you and an insult to journalism. Here's what really happened. One week ago on Monday, March 7th, about 180 University of Illinois faculty and staff sent a letter to the university chancellor expressing concern about the Trump rally from a liberal point of view.
The same day, the far-left website moveon.org partially funded by radical George Soros posted a petition opposing the Trump rally in Chicago. All throughout the week, far-left people ramped up the campaign to deny Donald Trump the Chicago forum. Thus, on Friday, it was no surprise that disrupted protesters entered the university pavilion to shut Trump down and confront his supporters. So I ask you, who's at fault here? Who provoked the incident? The answer's obvious, far-left agitators who do not believe in freedom of speech and drove a situation that could have become violent. There is no question about it. And Mr. Trump was right to cancel the event because people might have been hurt. But the national media almost immediately spun the story, demonizing Donald Trump and his supporters, blaming the incident on inflammatory rhetoric and racist thought. In the process the press ignored the MoveOn component, essentially condoning a flat out assault on freedom of speech.
Now, there is evidence that some Trump supporters are angry, undisciplined people, some violent. That's true. But some supporters of Bernie Sanders are angry and undisciplined. And here is an interesting footnote. The radical group Black Lives Matter actually shut down a Sanders rally last August. So, there's a trend. Radical leftists believing they can disrupt political events at will. Talking Points applauds honest dissent. If you don't like Donald Trump, stand outside his events peacefully. Make a little sign. Chant whatever you want, as long as it's not threatening. Opposition to Donald Trump is not the issue here, true fascism is. We have seen some anti-Trump people use the fascist salute while taunting Trump supporters. But here's a very simple question. Shutting down opposing points of view is totalitarian, right? So some of the very people accusing Trump supporters of being fascist are really practicing that terrible philosophy themselves. Or am I wrong?