CHICAGO — Thousands of protesters are expected at Friday's Donald Trump rally at UIC, but those who snagged a ticket online and plan to bail will not be making a political statement.
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Since Trump's rally was announced, protesters headed to the Eventbrite ticket page to snag their spot, and some bragged on social media about plans to leave their seats empty. But, as Trump supporters and protest organizers stress, that is just not going to happen.
"Buying tickets and then not showing up WILL NOT BE EFFECTIVE," organizers of the biggest scheduled Trump protest said on their Facebook page. "The Pavilion will be filled with overflow crowd if people with tickets do not show up."
10,000 people had RSVP'd for that protest as of Friday morning, and organizers of the large protest stressed their desire to remain peaceful. They also urged protesters to stick together, and said they can't guarantee the safety of those going inside the rally. After several high-profile incidents of Trump protesters being battered or threatened at events, the New York Times said being a protester in a Trump rally could be "the riskiest political act of 2016."
While the Trump campaign has not answered questions about admission to the rally, Doug Ibendahl, an attorney and editor of Republican News Watch, said Trump has been breaking attendance records at venues across the nation, and he expects the candidate's appearance at UIC to be no different.
Ibendahl said those who reserved a spot and hope to leave an empty seat are "wasting their time."
"You gotta get there early. Thousands of people [won't be able] to get in," he said, whether they registered or not.
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