Trump rally in Port Huron draws thousands, including Jake Lang, ahead of election
PORT HURON — Thousands from across the state gathered at the riverfront town of Port Huron on Sunday, Oct. 25, to see President Donald J. Trump. The rally, less than 10 days before Election Day, also drew in a fair number of demonstrators and counter-demonstrators, including far-right agitator and Jan. 6 rioter Jake Lang.
Attendees lined up as early as 9 a.m. to get into McMorran Place, the event center where Trump took the stage. Physical barriers cordoned off Huron Avenue, one of the event center’s cross streets, limiting attendees to the sidewalk on the street’s west side.
Demonstrators gathered on the corners of Huron Avenue and Grand River Avenue, and lined the sidewalk on Huron Avenue parallel to the event center.
Kathleen Grantom, of Yale, heard about the planned demonstration through Blue Water Indivisible, a grassroots organization formed to protect constitutional rights and protections for citizens in the Blue Water region. The group is not affiliated with a particular political party, according to its website.
Grantom said the number of demonstrators was encouraging to see, but expressed disappointment at the number of Michiganders in line to enter McMorran Place.
“We didn’t realize there were going to be [this] many people here,” she said, “but it’s still so sad to see how many people are here just to hear him talk, knowing that he’s going to say the same things that he says every time.”
On the parallel road, Michigan Street, demonstrators held signs that read “Democracy Dies While Trump Lies” and “Go To Hell Trump” across from counter-demonstrators, namely Jake Lang.
Lang is known to attend rallies and campaign events, either in support of or against the candidate, and stir up a crowd. He was most recently at a campaign stop for U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed in Hart, Michigan.
Lang has a history of pushing Islamophobic rhetoric, including traveling to Dearborn in August, home to the largest Arab American population in the nation, where he spoke about his grievances to the city council.
During the Port Huron rally, Lang held up a red sign in bold white lettering reading “Stop Muslim Takeover of Democrat Party” and on the flip side “Deport Terrorist Abdul El-Sayed” from the bed of a pickup truck, surrounded by a dozen supporters.
There were moments when it seemed the shouting between the two groups could turn violent.
Members of Jake Lang supporters and anti-Trump demonstrators crossed the bustling street, often impeding traffic.
Yale’s Grantom said Lang’s appearance is something she expected. “He’s got to find ways to make money,” she said. “So this is how he gets engagement and viewers.”
Andrew, who declined to share his last name, stood on the side of Lang’s supporters. He said he was there to attend the rally, but decided to stay by Lang’s truck.
“I’m here to support Donald Trump and Mike Rogers and, of course, against Abdul,” he said.
Andrew is from Harper Woods in Metro Detroit. He echoed Lang’s Islamophobic attitude, specifically concerning Dearborn and the percentage of those who identify as Muslim in positions of power. According to Andrew, the religious affiliation of the city’s mayor, Abdullah Hammoud, is “the problem.”
On the sidewalk opposite Lang supporters, Nicole Robinson held up a “Trump is a cunt” sign. A Lapeer County resident, Robinson traveled with her aunt to participate in the demonstration. Like Yale’s Grantom, the number of demonstrators gave Robinson hope for a potential blue wave with the upcoming midterm elections. “I think it’s a sign people want something different,” she said.
The rally, with all of its security and precautions, took a toll on the surrounding businesses.
An employee at Senior Tequila Mexican Restaurant, located on the street law enforcement cordoned off, said they found out about the rally from social media, long before the city made them aware.
Owners ordered extra food, liquor and added extra staff to the schedule. Throughout the day, however, the staff only saw a fraction of the normal crowd.
“People think we’re closed,” the employee said.
Concerned about clashes between demonstrators and attendees, the restaurant moved its outdoor furniture inside.
“We moved all of them because we were worried, like, what if they get in a fight and throw a chair or something,” the employee told The Expositor.
While business was slow before and during the rally, employees suspected it would pick up once the event wrapped up. With the majority of employees there being Hispanic, there were concerns about potential conflicts with rally attendees.
“The owners said if something happens and it gets rowdy, we’ll just shut our doors,” the employee said.
The rally saw few physical confrontations between demonstrators and counter-demonstrators.
Attendees wearing “Make America Great Again” baseball caps got in the face of demonstrators holding “Abdul for U.S. Senate” signs without any physical assaults.
Attendees were cut off from entering McMorran Place around 2 p.m. when it reached capacity.
As the afternoon continued on, attendees gradually left the event center, and the number of supporters waiting in line dwindled.
The rally wrapped up around 5:45 p.m., and demonstrators lined the street of Trump’s exit route, shouting at the president’s limo as he waved from the backseat.
