Liberal Protestors Steal Thunder
at Trump Freedom Tour in Austin
Capitol Inside
May 14, 2022
Tensions flared and tempers were high on Saturday when abortion rights protestors crossed paths with Donald Trump supporters amid dueling rallies in downtown Austin with the former president's American Freedom Tour and a pro-Roe v. Wade protest that began around the same time at the Texas Capitol.
The women choice advocates marched from the Texas Capitol before winding down in front of the Austin Convention Center where MAGA loyalists were streaming into the building to hear a marquee cast of conservatives that featured the ex-president and son Donald Trump Jr. Liberal protesters and Trump conservatives brushed shoulders amid shouting and angry rhetoric in a scene that had powderkeg potential before fizzling quickly after the Trump crowd disappeared into the meeting hall.
The latest in a string of protests in the Texas Capital City in the wake of a leaked Supreme Court opinion, a raucus pro-choice rally drew an estimated 3,500 people to the statehouse at the northern end of downtown on Saturday morning about the time the Trump event was getting under way.
American Freedom Tour officials said 8,000 people were packed inside the convention center - a figure that's twice as high as the building's maximum capacity. Trump is notorious for dramatically exaggerating the size of the crowds at his events. The Austin rally probably could have drawn a larger audience if Trump hadn't limited the number of $9 tickets that were sold out days before the event. The tickets that were still for sale at the outset of the event cost thousands of dollars per person.
The AFT rally in Austin was scheduled to end at 5 p.m. Trump Jr. was still speaking about 6 p.m. with his father preparing to appear as the rally finale. The scene surrounding the convention center was dead as the motivational event dragged into the night - with a handful of women rights protestors still gathered outside the convention center.
While Trump had a Secret Service entourage, there were no visible signs of added security in the swath of downtown by the Colorado River that the convention center anchors by the time the sun started to settle below the western hills. Trump shirts, hats and other memorabilia were on sale on two tables on one side of the convention center while a single Trump souvenir salesman was perched in front of the entrance.
Media that hadn't been selected to attend the event were turned away at the door. But the Trump didn't draw a sufficient number of people to affect the traffic flow through downtown throughout the day. Parking garages in the surrounding area had ample space.
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