Torontonians for Trump have responded to the planned Anti-Trump Rally at City Hall this weekend with a rally of their own.
Pro-Trump supporters from Toronto will gather to “peacefully protest against the peaceful protest against Donald Trump’s legitimacy as a US president” on Saturday, the group’s Facebook page says.
Amy Fernandes, a first-generation immigrant involved in a mixed race relationship, says she’s going because it’s important to show support for the people in the States who voted for Trump.
She wants anti-Trump supporters to know not all Trump allies are racist, white males, she says.
Her initial reaction to the anti-Trump rally in Toronto was anger.
“Torontonians can express their dislike for another country’s elected President any way they like, but it’s a democracy and unless they don’t believe in a democracy then they shouldn’t complain,” she says.
Fernandes says the anti-Trump group is advising its supporters on how to combat pepper spray, which she says hints things won’t stay peaceful.
Kayla Perry, an anti-Trump rally organizer, says someone had posted an article on the group’s Facebook page on how to prepare for a protest, including how to defend against pepper spray.
But the group has taken all measures to prevent violence, and safety is its highest priority, Perry says.