Westminster students who pay attention to politics were able to witness the recent protests outside of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s rallies in St.Louis, Chicago, Kansas City, Phoenix, and other various places across the country. Thousands of people gathered, whether they were inspired by a website or some by controversial comments, protesters aimed to prohibit Donald Trump from practicing his first amendment right. The silencing of Trump is what I believe to be an infringement of rights.

     Both sides own the right to speak freely, and that right has made America a vibrant and diverse nation.

    Protests, whether violent or peaceful, have gotten points across for years.

     However, in this election season, protesters against certain candidates should let the people make their own decision on candidate, no matter who the candidate is. Whether someone agrees with his ideals or not, there is no valid reason to have a protest where a group of people go inside of the rally and interrupt someone’s speech. These violent protests have ignited an already toxic political climate.

     Due to the amount of protesters and stoppages, Trump was not able to get into the flow of his speech, and get his points across to the audience. People waited hours to hear the man speak, and it’s classless and childish to disrupt anyone when they are talking. For people who are still on the fence about Trump, they were not even given a chance to listen to him.

     In an election, American citizens can vote for whoever they want. They do not need to be told who to vote for, or be yelled at by protesters for attending a rally for the candidate they want to listen to.   

     If someone is opposed to Trump, they should protest peacefully outside the rally, not go inside and cause a ruckus. The distractions create drama and take the substance out of the ideals and topics Trump is trying to share.

   This country is free, obviously. You can say whatever you want or protest whatever you want, but do not take away a citizen’s right to listen to someone.