I was at a Donald Trump rally a couple weeks ago. I wrote here on these pages that I had never been in a room like that. Anyone with a brain could see that the events you’re seeing tonight out of Chicago were on the way. Unlike some of the media frauds, I don’t blame it on Trump. Has he used hard rhetoric? Yes, of course he has. Is he to blame for violent thugs coming to shutdown his free speech?

No. He isn’t.

Here’s what I said back in that report

The other thing that I noticed was the tension. Protester after protester worked to disrupt the proceedings, their hatred shining brightly. I’ve never been in a room quite like that. I imagine the feeling I felt is the same one others noticed back in the late 1960’s. I hate to say this, but our country is headed for some rough political fights…much rougher than what we’ve seen during my lifetime. A photographer got into it with a Secret Service agent at this very rally, which is another sign of what’s possibly on the horizon. My only hope is that we don’t see real political violence come out of all this. The feeling in the room yesterday left me thinking that we might. I’ve never been involved with an election like this one and I feel like our country’s future truly is at stake. They say that during every presidential campaign, but this time it’s true.

I didn’t tell you that to drive clicks or make things seem more serious than they are. It was my honest observation. I’ve never been alive for a political moment like we’re facing now. The soul of the country is truly on the line. It’s not about being racist or hating minorities. I preach neither of those things. But you have to stand up to the anti-speech hate mob who want to shut-up Trump, or anyone else for that matter. I would say the same thing if Hillary Clinton’s rallies were being disrupted like this.

You can either sit back and be silent or you can stand up and fight back. I don’t advocate violence, but if you’re responding to someone who is visiting violence upon you, what are you supposed to do? We can’t let these sort of people win. Whatever you think about Trump, this is wrong. Forget about what he’s said, the point is, in America, he has the right to say it.

I’ve been heartened to see some conservatives who hate Trump and his message actually say this is wrong. Unfortunately, many others are trying to use what happened tonight in Chicago as an electoral bludgeon. They’re stupid, because it’s actually going to help Trump. But more importantly, they are a disgrace to the First Amendment. This sort of behavior from progressives can no longer be tolerated.

They must be defeated. That’s all there is to it.