Words and Photos by Sean Rayford

“BECAUSE HE’S A FUCKIN’ CRIMINAL!” shouts a woman when questioned by a Trump supporter, who asks for “ONE REASON!”

Holding the “IMPE” half of a protest sign that reads IMPEACH when joined with her partner, the context of his question is obvious. Around them on Harden St. in front of the main entrance of Benedict College, more than a hundred protestors shout about the president and his appearance at the Columbia, SC college, his first visit to an HBCU as a candidate or elected official. Several dozen supporters of the president also fill the area of Harden St. closed off by law enforcement. A van parked on the street sports a banner that reads, “MAKE LIBERALS CRY AGAIN — TRUMP.

There is a noticeable presence from protest groups that you’d expect from this type of visit, except for current Benedict students, whom, outside of the ten invited to hear the president — have been advised to stay inside their dorms. Benedict spokeswoman Kymm Hunter communicated that snacks would be delivered to dormitories during the visit and that classes had been canceled for the day.

By the time the president’s motorcade exits campus, past the condemned public housing at Allen Benedict Court, where gas leaks caused the deaths of two residents last year — about 75 people congregate at the barricade on the corner of Laurel and Harden, where a teenage Trump supporter is brought to tears by the insults of protestors.

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