Tyson Gross arrived at the Cleveland riverfront rally Monday for Donald Trump wearing a “Hillary for Prison” T-shirt — and openly carrying a Glock handgun on his hip.
Gross, financial analyst for the U.S. Navy, said it was the first time he had openly carried a firearm in public, but he feared real danger in light of the growing display of violence in America.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Gross stressed that he was worried about about violence coming from the anti-Trump protesters.
At the same time, he said he respected the rights of the anti-Trump forces to protest and even to be armed, as long as they were law-abiding. Speaking of Black Lives Matters demonstrators, he said, “Come armed too. It’s fine. Just don’t harm anybody.”
Despite feeling like he was in danger, Gross said he was convinced he “needed to demonstrate.” And that part of doing so was “displaying his loaded gun” to show “that Trump’s supporters could not be intimidated.”
The violence perpetrated at a June 2 Trump rally in San Jose makes the case for Gross’s concerns. At that rally, a pro-Trump female was pelted with eggs, and other Trump supporters were beaten in the streets or attacked while sitting in their cars. CBS SF Bay Area reported that a police officer was also “assaulted” at the San Jose rally.
Breitbart News previously reported that Ohio Governor John Kasich rejected a Cleveland Police Union request that he suspend the state’s open carry laws during the Republican National Convention. Press secretary Emmalee Kalmbach made clear that Ohio governors lack the authority to suspend a law that is constitutionally protected at the state or federal level.
Photo: File
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
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