Donald Trump says he would never silence you, but tell that to his hecklers

Donald Trump told hundreds of supporters at a rally in Newton he would never take away their freedoms or let the government silence them. Except 40 minutes before the former president said those words, his security team forcibly removed a guest in the standing-room-only section who voiced his disagreements.

“Never forget our enemies want to take away my freedom because I will never let them take away your freedom,” Trump said. “That’s what’s happening. They want to silence me because I would never let the government silence you. In the end, they’re not after me they’re after you. I just happen to be standing in their way.”

Ryan Grone, of Nebraska, waited in line since 9 a.m. to see Trump at his commit-to-caucus event. Two hours later he had gone through security and found at seat near the southern end of the DMACC Newton Campus Conference Center. In front of him was a wide pillar blocking his view of the president.

So, naturally, he changed places to get a marginally better view. Grone found himself amongst reporters scribbling notes and snapping photographs of their subject. But he was also standing behind two, much taller Trump supporters who hollered and clapped at every comment, joke and declaration. Grone did not.

Both of these supporters wore hats. The older gentleman wore a white hat that matched his white beard, and it signified he was a Trump Caucus Captain. The other man was slightly younger and on his cap was a black American Flag, which means to give no quarter in war; to kill any would-be prisoners.

Occasionally, Trump would say something Grone disagreed with, and he would speak up enough so those within earshot could hear him. He also questioned some of Trump’s claims, including one where the former president said the American Civil War could have been negotiated.

“How would he even do that?” Grone asked to no one in particular. Regardless, the comments garnered unflattering looks from the two men in front of him. When Trump pivoted toward the border issue — as he so often did — he boasted about not allowing sick immigrants a chance to “infect our people.”

Grone spoke up and was immediately accosted by the two Trump supporters, two individuals he may have identified with a few years ago. Social media pages show Grone was at some point a supporter of Trump, and perhaps he still is; but if he is, he is certainly more critical of the former president and his followers.

The man in the white hat said, “You might be in the wrong room.”

“I’m just saying that’s factually incorrect. They didn’t close the border during COVID,” Grone said, though reports from major media outlets say official crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border halted for 20 months, and it was unclear whether he was referring to legal or illegal crossings.

The man in the black American Flag hat tried to settle Grone down. “OK. And we’ll figure it out later, OK? Alright,” he said. “It’s time to listen.”

Grone persisted. “They did not close the Mexican border. He’s lying. He’s up there and he’s lying.”

“Would you be quiet?” the white hatted captain asked.

“He’s making you guys look stupid is what he’s doing,” Grone said. “I’m just trying to help you guys out.”

Shortly after this interaction the security teams began to move in on Grone, who has, admittedly, been kicked out of Trump rallies before. The men in suits had Grone completely surrounded, and they waited for him to open his mouth one last time. And he did. And they wasted no time in throwing him out.

“Let’s go. You’re out of here. Keep moving.”

When security returned, the man in the white hat went over to a guard to shake his hand for throwing out the dissenter whose comments were only heard by a handful of people. Though if given more time perhaps he would have made a scene that caught the ear of ol’ Forty-Five. Tough to say.

All the while Trump spoke uninterrupted for nearly two hours to a venue that was so full that Newton’s fire chief and fire marshal had to start turning folks away for safety reasons. The overflow met at the top atrium of DMACC, and they watched the former president make his pitch to become president once more.

Similar to his more recent commit-to-caucus rallies throughout the state, Trump spoke at length — or at short length but many times so it felt longer — about the border crisis, the incompetence of President Joe Biden, the ungratefulness of both Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis and the “fake news” media.

Over the past few months, nearly every major candidate has made appearances in Newton. Which is typical of Iowa and its first-in-the-nation status for caucuses. But neither Haley nor DeSantis nor Vivek Ramaswamy nor Ryan Binkley could draw a crowd in Newton as large as Trump’s. Even combined the attendance isn’t even close.

Throughout the city and smaller towns and unincorporated areas of Jasper County there are numerous Trump flags and Trump-like flags (think Let’s Go Brandon or F*** Joe Biden) posted on lawns and porches and windows. Trump, at first glance, reigns supreme in Jasper. His Newton rally only solidified that.

But this time he’s not only going to build a wall, like he promised in the 2016 election. Trump gauged the crowd on what they thought about his new idea.

“You know those domes are starting to work. I didn’t like it when Reagan suggested it because we didn’t have the technology. We do have the technology now, and we’re going to build a giant dome over our country to protect us from a hostile source,” Trump said. “I think it’s a great thing.”

The dome, he added, will be made in the United States.

“I think we could use it. Do you like that? Isn’t that better than giving other countries billions of dollars? We’re giving billions of dollars to other countries so they can build a home, but we don’t have a dome ourselves,” Trump said. “We’re going to have the greatest dome ever.”

It is only a matter of time before we see those new flags. And you know what they’ll say?

Build. That. Dome.