A cloudy, rainy day didn't stop thousands from making their way to downtown Minneapolis as President Donald Trump brought his 'Keep America Great' rally to Target Center on Thursday.
Follow President Trump's visit to Minneapolis by visting the WCCO Twitter page
In the morning, businesses along First Avenue near Target Center were getting ready for a day that would be far from ordinary.
"We always try to stay open," said Kaye Stein, a manager at the Loon Cafe located on the corner of North 1st Avenue and North 5th Street. "I got to work two hours early not knowing what to expect with road and ramp closures."
Stein said they considered the safety of their employees first and foremost when deciding to stay open through Presiden't Trump's rally.
Related Trump attacks Biden, slams impeachment probe at Minn. rally
As businesses opened, lines inside the skyway connected from Target Center to Ramp B continued to grow and Trump supporters dawned their 'Make American Great' hats, took pictures, and applauded Minneapolis Police officers and other security personnell.
A consistent scene here... @MinneapolisPD and security personnel receiving cheers and thank you’s ahead of tonight’s @realDonaldTrump rally at Target Center. @wccoradio pic.twitter.com/gqC5YIM9mP
— Mark Freie (@MarkFreie)
October 10, 2019 Trump supporters came from all across Minnesota, but one couple traveled over 1,200 miles from Lake Mary Ronan, Montana to see the president. Luckily for Wanda Murray and her husband Ronald, they were able to beat traffic by flying their own airplane to Minneapolis.
"We got in line around 4:00 a.m. and are here to show support for Trump," Wanda Murray, pictured below, said. "I saw him at a Las Vegas rally in 2015 and I had the privilege of signing people up to help with his campaign."
A couple @realDonaldTrump supporters definitely avoided traffic congestion to get to tonight’s rally...Wanda Murray and her husband flew their own plane from Lake Mary Ronan, Montana. They landed this morning and have been in line since 4 a.m. pic.twitter.com/tHvnd3oMVk
— Mark Freie (@MarkFreie)
October 10, 2019 Because of that, the Murray's felt it was imporant to make the trip to Minneapolis, even if meant potentially battling a snow storm on the flight home.
"With all this impeachment talk, we just felt it was our responsibilites as Americans to support him," Wanda said inside the hall filled with rally goers. "It's been very peaceful. A lot of happy faces."
1- This isn't true. There's no ban on anyone.2- Follow along with us, our reporters @SloaneMartin and @MarkFreie all afternoon/evening for the latest updates from both sides. https://t.co/vhq93ym5PV
— WCCO Radio (@wccoradio)
October 10, 2019 Beneath the warm skyways and halls filled with scores of Trump supporters, anti-Trump groups formed rapidly just feet away from the front door of Target Center. Bill Hettler of Crystal, Minnesota held up his sign supporting Minnesota congresswoman, Ilhan Omar.
"I'm impressed there are a lot of people that feel they need to protest one way or another," Hettler said. "Most of the people have been very reasonable. I've seen some pretty angry people using foul language, but most people are just walking by."
Protestors outside Target Center...So far most have told me they’ve been treated decently. That’s the word from both sides, which is refreshing. #TrumpMinneapolis pic.twitter.com/58jNWotEmN
— Mark Freie (@MarkFreie)
October 10, 2019 Protestors remained on the streets as crowds grew into the afternoon. Few, if any, protestors were spotted inside the hallways where rally goers waited.
"I'm not at all interested in doing that," Hettler said. "I'll be here a few hours and then I have to pick up my daughter and take her swimming."
Doors to Target Center opened around 2 p.m. well before the initially planned 4 p.m. opening. Lee Becker of Reiter of Becker, Minnesota waited three hours before the doors finally opened and was there for one reason.
"Trump. That's it," Reiter said, as he disregarded news of a possible impeachment and other negative news surrounding the president. "It's fake. Ignore the news. Be your own person. What more can you say?"
Gates are open... I was told earlier that they’d open at 4, so the lines are moving quickly. @wccoradio pic.twitter.com/90e7cb2ybj
— Mark Freie (@MarkFreie)
October 10, 2019 With lines moving into Target Center, focus shifted more towards a rapidly growing crowd of protestors. Dermot Cowley, owner of O'Donovan's Pub, observed the growing crowd adjacent from the First Avenue night club.
"We had a great turnout for lunch and everybody seemed to be in a good mood," Cowley said. "We plan to be open all night and will observe carefully what's going on outside. Very few days do we use security, but we'll have it tonight. We just want to be safe and that's our priority."
President Trump announced his Minneapolis campaign rally on September 26, giving the city two weeks to prepare for large crowds. For one out of town visitor, the rally was a bit of a surprise.
"I'd made plans to visit some friends here earlier this year and just found out about the rally on Wednesday during lunch," said Evan Russell, who flew into Minneapolis on Wednesday night. "I had no idea what to expect, but as soon as I came downtown I saw all of the road closures and immediately saw the sprinkling of red hats."
Large crowds continued to gather outside of Target Center chanting "impeach" "save the Kurds" and their loud ringing of whistles could be heard in support of the whistelblower linked to President Trump's phone call with Ukranian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
Rain continued to fall on the crowd throughout the evening as the countdown until Trump's arrival continued. The president finally pulled into a rear entrance of Target Center shortly before 7 p.m.
Earlier.... @realDonaldTrump arriving in Minneapolis. @SloaneMartin is following live inside Target Center. pic.twitter.com/EDWLZiIsLI
— Mark Freie (@MarkFreie)
October 11, 2019 Protests continued into the evening with reported confrontations between protestors and police, including crowds lighting MAGA hats on fire. Those fires were quickly enxtinguished by police.
The rally got underway shortly after 7 p.m. and WCCO's Sloane Martin was inside Target Center and caught up with the crowds throughout the night.
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