As the Presidential Primary for Illinois came closer, I thought I would go out and experience the candidates holding rallies around the state. One that struck me as interesting one to attend was the Donald Trump rally at the UIC Pavilion on March 11. Although the thought of Trump as president sends shivers down my spine, I wanted to see the man himself in person. The media has done great coverage of Trump and his engaging views on policies along with his attendance at the Republican debates, but I thought that witnessing him live would be an unforgettable experience.

Late Thursday night I decided to go with one of my friends along with her dad. I initially thought nothing of the safety concern of the rally, but as soon as I saw the long line of supporters wrapping around the building, I was thankful for an adult to be in attendance with us.

The wait to just get inside of the pavilion was about 50 minutes. Standing in line by news trucks and avid trump supporters, I saw a few sporadic protestors, nothing to the extent that had been predicted on the news.

Finally in the doors, there was already a large group of people on the main floor, packed in close to the stage to get the closest view of Trump possible. My friend’s dad knew that picking a seat near the exit in case utter chaos were to break out would be a safe bet, so we chose the middle section below the balcony seating. Little did we know we were in the hot section for Trump protestors.

Seated behind us were middle aged white men and their sons, talking very loudly. I overheard some of their conversations in which religion and gender were discussed in extremely offensive ways.

At 5:20 p.m., a male protestor stirred up some trouble with some Trump supporters on the ground and starts yelling and getting somewhat physical. The police are brought in to get some control over the man. As he began to get escorted out, a booming chant of “LET HIM STAY!” began, but the Chicago police continued with their action.

Events like that happened four or five times while the crowd awaited Trump’s arrival.

At 6:15 p.m., I thought to myself Well, Trump isn’t a really prompt guy, so I guess it’s typical for him to show up late. So, we continued to wait.

Finally, around 6:30 p.m., cheers started up as the crowd saw a man in a suit walk on stage. We started cheering, then soon stopped once we came to the realization that it wasn’t Trump.

“Mr. Trump just arrived in Chicago and after meeting with law enforcement has determined that for the safety of all the tens of thousands of people that gathered in and around the arena, tonight’s rally will be postponed until another date,” he said.

What happened next was not what the man had hoped to occur after saying “Thank you for your attendance and please go in peace.” He then ran off backstage.

Five seconds after the message came over on the PA system, the crowd went wild. Protestors began celebrating and cheering “WE STOPPED TRUMP” while supporters who came to see Trump stood in shock, which soon turned into anger. Punches were thrown; even one of LT’s own was shown on TV allegedly getting into a brawl with a protestor.

Outside of the venue, the number of protestors grew 50 times larger than what I had seen while entering the pavilion. Taunting chants came from behind the police barricades where the protestors stood. “RACISTS!” was often yelled at the attendees trying to escape the madness before things got too heated. So many times I wanted to yell, “I am not a supporter! I am just here for the experience!” but fear took away my words, but I was also afraid that Trump supporters could harm me.

As we got further away from the building, eight helicopters flew above us, and the streets flooded into one big group of people. An ambulance tried to get through, but protestors blocks its path, jumped on the hood, and shouted profanity at it.

Even though I didn’t get to see Mr. Trump in person, I learned something from this experience. This is the environment that Trump brings when he has rallies; it is not because of the people or protestors. He has created this tension himself, and nothing good can come from it.